


Yin and Yang of Despair

by kittyissac



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Twins, Anxiety Disorder, Brotherly Bonding, F/F, F/M, Family, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Torture, Izuru Has Emotions, Komaeda isn't as crazy, M/M, Mental Anguish, Multi, No Incest, No Twincest, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Hajime Hinata, Transphobia, it's dangan ronpa what do you expect, lots of death, lots of ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 36
Words: 64,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8112955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyissac/pseuds/kittyissac
Summary: Hajime and Izuru Hinata are new students at Hope's Peak Academy, but, instead of a normal, high school life, instead they are forced to participate in a killing game. With their insane classmates, a murderous stuffed bear and a mother hen of a stuffed rabbit, can the twins survive?





	1. Prologue part 1

Two boys stood in front of the intimidating main building of Hope’s Peak Academy. One had short, brown hair with a piece that stuck up stubbornly. The other was quite different. His hair was much longer, down to his ankles, and was black. You wouldn’t even be able to tell the two were brothers, let alone twins.

The shorter of the two stared up at the building in awe, slightly nervous, while the other had an uninterested and bored look, but his brother knew that he was nervous as well. 

“This is pretty exciting huh Izuru? I mean… Hope’s Peak… you ever think we’d make it here?” The black haired twin, Izuru, said nothing, instead looking towards his brother, before finally speaking.

“Not really. But I have a feeling this won’t be different than any other school Hajime. After all… school is school no matter what form. The only difference is us being able to very easily get a job when we graduate.” Izuru stated. The other boy, Hajime, sighed. His brother was always looking on the logical side, and rarely let himself get excited.

“Even so, this might be a good chance for you to finally make friends. Maybe you’ll find someone who you can get along with besides me.” Hajime smiled at Izuru, hoping to comfort his brother. Izuru merely looked away, not saying anything, but he didn’t need to. Both twins knew that the chance of Izuru actually making friends was slim to none, but one could always hope.

Hajime honestly hoped his brother could make friends here. Izuru had always been reclusive, and always complaining about things not being interesting to him. Izuru was insanely talented in many things… except social interactions. Izuru rarely talked to anyone besides his brother, even sometimes being cold and stoic to his parents, and only spoke up in school if he was asked to answer something. 

It wasn’t like Izuru hated other people, he just had a hard time finding a common interest with other children. When kids were talking about video games or a TV show, Izuru couldn’t understand their excitement. Those things were boring and predictable to him, so it was hard for him to talk to others about it. Hajime, who had been with him from the start, knew him well enough to find things that he liked… which wasn’t much but Hajime managed to find things. Certain comic books or TV shows, or something that caught Izuru’s eye. 

Most people saw Izuru as emotionless or cruel, but Hajime knew that Izuru wasn’t. He may be stoic and seem emotionless, but with Hajime, and sometimes their parents, he was a good, if… odd, person. 

But, now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing. Looking back at the school, Hajime smiled at the taller boy.

“Well, we won’t be getting anywhere by just standing out where let’s g- huh?” His vision suddenly started to go black around the edges, and he felt dizzy. He could vaguely see Izuru grip his head, as if he suddenly had a headache, and could see him slightly swaying in place, possibly feeling the same thing he was. He tried to call out his brother’s name but nothing left his mouth, and just as he was about to fall over…

It was over.

Suddenly, both of them were standing in front of a classroom door.

Izuru was the first to steady himself, and he took in their surroundings. There was only the door in this area, which he found odd but, he supposed they should enter. Even if their situation was odd, he couldn’t bring himself to not go in the door, after all, there was no other place to go. 

Placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder to steady him, Izuru waited until Hajime’s head cleared and the two were ready to go in.

“Huh?” Hajime said as he looked around the room, and although Izuru didn’t vocalize it… he was thinking the same thing.

“Who are you?” A female’s voice called out. The twins couldn’t really tell who said it since they were too busy looking around, but the voice had a polite, if slightly forceful tone to it.

“Um…” Hajime said, not sure what else to say. The shorter moved a bit closer to his brother, and instinctively reached out his hand, which Izuru took and gave a firm squeeze to comfort the other.

“Are you two alright? You both look quite pale…” Another girl, but this one had a more regal tone to it, and had a slight accent that neither could place.

“I-I’m… well, he’s always this pale…” Hajime mumbled out, which earned him a slight look from Izuru.

“Hey, are you guys new students too?” Yet another girl cried out. Her tone was more bossy than the last two however.

“A-ah, so you’re also…” Hajime wished his voice could be more confident, but he had a strong feeling of unease, like something was very, very wrong… Izuru had the same feeling, and kept looking around the room, trying to read everyone and looking for a possible threat.

“Yup, that’s what it looks like, we’re all new students here!” Cried a slightly more casual and laid back voice, definitely male this time however. The two looked around the room, looking at their new classmates curiously.

“I guess they’re gathering all the new students in here?” A softer, slightly sleepy voice chimed in. Izuru had a bad feeling however. This did not feel like the normal thing that happened, even at an Academy for the talented.  


Suddenly, a very overweight man in a white suit spoke up. 

“Oi, how about you at least come into the room?” Hajime jumped a little and walked in, mumbling an apology as he did so, while Izuru followed quietly. Hajime shut the door quickly, and as soon as it closed with a soft ‘click’ Izuru immediately felt a sense of dread, but he wasn’t going to show it, after all, he had no idea who these people were, and he was not going to show any weakness around them. He could tell that Hajime was trying to do the same, but most likely for different reasons… 

Hajime was uncomfortable. He had no idea how he had even gotten into this classroom, one moment he and his brother were standing outside the school, then suddenly they were in front of a door leading to a classroom. It was unnatural, and Hajime was a bit worried.

“Um… hey, can I ask a question…?” Doing his best, not to fidget, Hajime asked the question that he knew was on Izuru’s mind as well.

“What is it?” The fat blond replied.

“Um… so, why are we gathered here? I mean, I don’t remember being told to come here at all.” Izuru, who had been standing close to Hajime this whole time, was proud of how well his brother was handling himself, he’d half expected his brother to be freaking out a bit more.

“I was just discussing that matter with everyone. Since we’re all here, we might as well discuss it.” The blond had a haughty tone to his voice, and it slightly got on Izuru’s nerves. “However… there is something I do want to address… Why is there an extra person here?” Silence permeated throughout the air until someone spoke up. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” A… what the hell was up with her hair? Izuru looked away as to not stare at the girl’s oddly shaped and colored hair. He wasn’t sure what she was going for with her fashion choice, but it was definitely odd. 

“I mean, there are only 16 desks in this classroom, but 17 people.” The haughty blond replied as if it were the most obvious thing. 

“Maybe they just didn’t have enough desks?” Asked a rather… well endowed woman. She was scratching her head with a slightly confused expression on her face.

“Hmm… perhaps. Nevertheless, we have more pressing issues to discuss. Such as… does anyone remember coming to this classroom?” The question was loaded, and no one raised their hand to offer an explanation. “Before I knew what was happening I ended up here, it seems like everyone else was the same.” Hajime felt a bit better that it wasn’t just him and his brother, but Izuru was the opposite. Whatever had happened was extremely serious.

“I take it you all experienced dizziness as well?” Izuru finally spoke up, voicing his worries to everyone. Hajime was a bit shocked that his brother had spoken at all, so he knew that he was worried. 

“E-eh? So it wasn’t just me?” A small, plump man, exclaimed while shaking a bit. 

“It’s… very unlikely that it’s a coincidence…” A small, almost not there voice spoke up. The voice seemed to belong to a girl with bandages around her arm and leg.

“Which means it isn’t one.” The blond explained. “In other words, this strange phenomenon has some meaning behind it.” Before anyone had time to be shocked, a loud, booming voice piped in.

“The problem right now isn’t the dizziness.” The man it belonged to was just as big as the voice was.

“E-eh? What what else is there?” The casual sounding voice finally had a face. The face of a pink haired man in a bright yellow jumpsuit that was hard to look at. He also had filed down teeth, made to look like a shark’s most likely.

“The biggest problem is… why we can’t leave.” The large man finally said. And those words sunk into the twins’ stomachs like a ton of bricks. Izuru turned around towards the door and pulled on it as hard as he could. 

“Don’t even try string bean, if I couldn’t do it neither could you!” The man punched his palm with his hand as if to prove a point. Izuru felt a bit of irritation at being called ‘string bean’ but he supposed he appeared much weaker than he really was.

“S-s-so it really won’t open?” The girl with bandages cried out. Izuru simply nodded his head.

“Right after we came here I had to go take a shit but the door wouldn’t budge an inch!” The muscled man exclaimed. ‘Too much information…’ Izuru thought as he took his place next to Hajime again. 

“What the hell is going on?” Pink haired guy yelled.

“This doesn’t make any sense, when we came in the door opened easily, why won’t it open?” Izuru put a comforting hand on Hajime’s shoulder, trying to calm his brother down, but… it wasn’t working. This situation was too weird and Hajime had no idea what he was going to do. He could feel anxiety crushing his body, making him heavy. 

“D-did we get mixed up in something shady?” Shark week, as he was now dubbed in Izuru’s head, asked.

“Or maybe… this is the entrance exam?” A boy with fluffy white hair suggested.

“According to Hope’s Peak no such entrance exam exists.” A girl with a bow explained. She must have been the regal voice from before.

“Plus, if this was an entrance exam, what is the point? After all, I doubt anyone here is the Super High School Level Survivalist, Soldier, Spy, or whatever, so finding a way to escape would be impossible for any of us.” Izuru said. This being an entrance exam made no sense at all.

“He’s right! This isn’t an entrance exam!” A cutesy, high pitched voice called out.

“What… was that just now?” Haughty blond asked.

“Hey fatass, why’d you make that cutesy voice all of a sudden?” A boy whose demeanor and appearance reminded Izuru of a chihuahua yelled. 

“I won’t dispute the comment about my weight, but that voice was not mine.” 

“Huh, so whose was it?” Big boobed girl questioned.

“Um, actually it was me!” The cute voice yelled again.

“SHOW YOURSELF!” Muscles yelled out. 

“Isn’t it coming from behind the teacher’s desk?” The soft, slightly sleepy voiced girl commented, looking towards said desk.

“Bingo! Looks like everyone’s here so let’s begin!” 

For a moment there was silence until… A white rabbit wearing a pink tutu and bib jumped onto the desk and waved what looked like some kind of wand straight out of a magical girl anime, leaving hearts the wand’s trail. 

“What… is that?” Regal girl asked.

“It… it looks like a stuffed animal.” The bossy voice from earlier, which he now knew was a redhead with a bob haircut.

“Thaaaat’s right! I’m a squeezably soft stuffed animal! My name is Magical Girl Miracle ★ Usami! Or, Usami! I’m your teacher everyone! Pleased to meet you!” 

Pudgy guy with a chef hat looked like he was about to pass out from the shock, but managed to stutter out: “A-am I hallucinating? Is everyone else here seeing this?”

“Nah… we see it too…” Shark week replied, looking just as unnerved. 

“What the hell is that? A talking chihuahua?” Apparently, Big Tits McGee wasn’t that bright.

“Eh? That’s a chihuahua?” Horn hair questioned, looking confused and Izuru was about to slap himself from how stupid these people were. Judging by his expression, Hajime felt his pain.

“Does everyone know what a rabbit is? It’s a lovely animal with fluffy, fluffy fur!” The rabbit, Usami, said, almost sounding… disappointed. 

“W-wait a second, give me a second to process this!” Chef hat pleaded.

“Okie dokie!” Usami replied. ‘Well that was easy…’ Hajime thought.

“Umm… OK guys, what do you think? I’ve never seen a stuffed animal that can talk before.” Chef hat mumbled.

“It’s probably remote controlled or something, stop acting like such a pussy over a kid’s toy!” Chihuahua guy yelled.

“I dunno, that kind of movement from a remote control seems far fetched.” Shark week said scratching his cheek. 

“The problem isn’t what it’s movements are, but what it’s saying. You, you know what’s going on here don’t you?” Fat guy in a suit said to the rabbit accusingly.

“Of course I know! I’m supervising teacher of this field trip you know!” Usami answered cheerfully. 

“Field trip…” Izuru repeated, looking at the robotic animal curiously. “Why are we going on a field trip on the first day of school… more importantly, why is our teacher a stuffed rabbit? I doubt you’re actually our teacher.” This seemed to catch her off guard and she looked anxious.

“W-well, we’re going a field trip because… it’s important for you all to get to know each other and make bonds! And of course I’m your teacher! So, let’s get this field trip started!” She seemed to be in a hurry to change the subject, and waved her wand. Suddenly, the ceiling started to open up to a bright, sunny, blue sky, almost blinding everyone. And after a moment, the walls gave way, opening up like a box to reveal… a beach. Izuru blinked, rubbed his eyes and stared.

Hajime… he wasn’t doing as well as Izuru. He was extremely pale, and seemed to be at a loss for words.

“What the hell?!” He managed to get out. Everyone spouted similar outbursts of shock and confusion. 

“Wh-why are we by the sea? We’re supposed to be attending Hope’s Peak Academy!” The girl with bandages cried out, tears trailing down her cheeks.

“Please forget about that place and try to enjoy your time here! That’s what this field trip is all about!” The cheerful sound in her voice made Izuru on edge. It only confused Hajime more. 

“Hey, what are you scheming?” The overweight blond yelled out.

“I’m not plotting anything! I just want a biiig hope to grow in your hearts! So please, there’s nothing to worry about on this island!”

“Wait, did you say ‘island’?” Fluffy asked. 

“Yup! A beautiful deserted island all to yourselves!” Usami cheered.

“A-a deserted island?” Hajime asked. The further this went, the less things made sense. In truth… this was exciting to Izuru, even if he was on edge, it was still exciting and new. 

“D-do you plan to make us kill each other?” Fluffy asked, with a frightened look on his face.

“Wh-what? Kill each other? No, no, no! Violence and killing is a big no-no on this island! K-killing… just saying the word makes me shiver... “ The rabbit started to cry, which… seemed impossible since she was just a toy. 

“What is the point of this ‘field trip’ then?” The fat blond asked.

“It’s time for my speech! The point of this field trip is to build bonds and make friends! To raise hope as you enjoy a quiet, peaceful experience on this island!” The rabbit seemed proud of herself. “That is the purpose of this ‘Heart-Throbbing School Trip!” The name itself made Izuru want to barf at how cheesy and sickly sweet it sounded. The rabbit could have at least come up with a better name. “I hope you all enjoy.” 

Izuru looked over at his brother, and from his pale face, and shell shocked expression, Izuru was able to catch him as he fell over, collapsing to his knees, burying his head in his arms. A panic attack. Izuru had dealt with Hajime having a panic attack once or twice. Once during a lockdown at their school, and another when a group of bullies had beaten him to a pulp, so he knew what to do.

However, it had never been this bad, and he wasn’t able to calm Hajime down before his eyes rolled up and he passed out from breathing too quickly. Izuru sighed and gently laid his brother on his back, and sat down.

“Umm… is he going to be OK?” Fluffy asked him cautiously.

“Most likely. He was breathing too quickly and heavily and passed out. He should wake up once he rests for a bit.” Izuru replied calmly. He didn’t make eye contact with the boy, too focused on his brother and his own thoughts.

“I see… well, I think I’ll stay here. I’m kind of worried too y’know. I mean… passing out like that. It’s pretty worrying.” Fluffy sat down as well, looking at Hajime nervously.

“Do as you wish.” Izuru replied, not really caring whether or not the boy stayed.


	2. Prologue pt. 2 Hamsters on a Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First impressions are always the best.

“Hey… can you hear me?” 

‘Huh… who…?’ Hajime slowly regained consciousness, and the first thing he saw when he woke was someone leaning over him. 

“Are you alright? That guy you were with said you’d be fine but… you look exhausted… to be honest, I’m also… no, everyone’s the same way, all things considered. Hey… are you listening?” The boy above him asked. Hajime slowly sat up, putting a hand to his throbbing head. 

“Hajime.” His head turned to see his brother walking towards him. Izuru knelt down next to his brother.

“What… happened?” Hajime asked. However, he knew what happened, he just didn’t want to believe it. Something this insane happening… it couldn’t be real. But, he was still on that beach…

“Hajime, you know what happened.” Izuru said firmly. Hajime sighed and stood up, and Izuru did the same.

“Hey um… sorry to interrupt, but, you _are_ OK right?” The pale, white haired boy asked, concern laced in his voice.

“I… I’m fine. Just leave me alone.” Hajime groaned.

“No way, you still look really pale… and so does he.” The boy said looking at Izuru. Said boy narrowed his eyes.

“I’m always this pale.” 

“That… thing said we’re on an island right?” Hajime asked nervously.

“It seems so. From what I can tell it’s in the southern hemisphere due to the temperature and the flora.” Izuru said matter of factly. Hajime looked around and saw that Izuru was right, the palm trees and a few flowers certainly looked tropical. He also saw a camera and a monitor on one of the trees.

“Are… we being watched?” Hajime asked. 

“I suppose. It’s probably to make sure we don’t get into any danger. But… I can see why you’d be worried.” Fluffy said. 

‘This guy is so carefree… it’s… suspicious.’ Izuru thought to himself. 

“Anyway, are you feeling any better?” Fluffy asked Hajime. “And I know you’re probably still a little messed up right now, but don’t you think it’d be good if we introduced ourselves since we didn’t get to before, and he was too busy worrying about you.” 

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” Hajime replied while Izuru merely gave a small nod.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Nagito Komaeda.” Fluffy, or Nagito as Izuru now knew, said cheerfully. “Oh, and since we’re introducing ourselves, I should probably tell you my talent, though, it’s not that impressive.” He said while looking a little disappointed.

“Why would it not be impressive?” Hajime questioned. He thought that since he was accepted to Hope’s Peak, then it had to be really interesting and exciting.

“Well… I’m lucky.” Nagito said. This made both brothers confused.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Hajime seemed to be the most curious, but Izuru was too, how was good luck a talent?

“My official title is ‘Super High School Level Good Luck.’ I won a lottery according to my invitation.” 

‘Good Luck? Is that even a talent?’ Hajime thought skeptically. 

“You look like you’re not really sure what to make of this…” Nagito said, sounding a little disappointed again.

“N-no, that’s not it at all…” Hajime tried to comfort.

“It’s OK, I feel the same. I’m just an ordinary high school student with no talent. When I got the invitation I tried to refuse but they insisted. Apparently Luck is something that Hope’s Peak doesn’t really understand, and so for the sake of research they hold that lottery every year. It sure is amazing that they research something as trivial as luck so intensely. I’m glad they made it possible for nobodies such as me to enter. But on the other hand I feel a little out of place.” 

Nagito seemed to realize that he was rambling and went a little red. “A-ah, sorry, sometimes I can’t help myself but get negative sometimes, it’s a bad habit… but, that’s all for my introduction.” Nagito finally finished. Izuru made a mental note to keep an on eye on him, since Nagito seemed to be a bit too carefree in this environment. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I’m Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you.”

“... Izuru Hinata.”

“Huh? You have the same last name? Well, I guess it’s not an uncommon name but…”

“We’re twins.” Izuru explained.

“But you two look nothing alike… well, I guess that’s not too unsurprising either, but still.” Nagito gave a small laugh.

“We used to look really similar, except for our eyes, but Izuru got tired of people mistaking us for each other and grew his hair out and dyed it black.” Hajime said. Nagito hummed and looked at the two, most likely checking out the similarities.

“Well, nice to meet you both. Now, I’m wondering, what’s your talents?” Nagito asked after a few moments.

“It’s… um…” Hajime tried to say but… nothing came to his mind. The more he tried to remember, the harder it became. Izuru tried to remember as well but… it only made his head hurt. 

“It’s uh… um…” Hajime was shivering a little from discomfort and Izuru put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Huh, is something wrong?” Nagito asked.

“It’s nothing… I guess we’re still a little disoriented.” Hajime said, mostly to himself.

“It’s still odd that both of us are having the same issue.” Izuru mumbled, his feeling of dread only growing.

“You guys can’t remember? That’s strange… But I suppose after everything that’s happened it’s understandable. I’m sure it’s just shock, so try not to worry too much! I’m not sure what’s going on, but I hope we can be friends.” As Nagito said that, a small chime sounded out, making Hajime jump.

“What was that? It came from…” Hajime dug into his pocket and pulled out a small tablet. “What is this?” 

“Usami gave it to us, you don’t remember?” 

“He was kind of in the middle of passing out when it happened.” Izuru said with slight disdain in his voice. 

“Oh yeah… I kind of remember something like that... what is it?” Hajime asked. Suddenly, the white rabbit appeared in front of them, making Hajime let out a yelp of surprise.

“It’s an e-Handbook!” She yelled.

“Agh! Where did you come from?!” Hajime yelled.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you? I’m so sorry! But isn’t that thing amazing, it’s an important part of this school trip, so please don’t lose it.” Usami warned.

“This… is important?” Hajime asked.

“When she explained it to us earlier, she said that we use them to keep track of the ‘Hope Shards’ that we gather.” Izuru explained.

“Hope Shards?”

“When you deepen your bonds with your classmates, you will gain ‘Hope Shards’. The more you build a friendship, the more shards you will get! I want you all to gather as many of them as you can!” With that, the rabbit disappeared, and all of them wondered how in the hell she moved so fast.

“Why does she want us to gather these things? Does she think this is a game?” Hajime yelled angrily.

“If this was a game, I’d be relieved, because that means we aren’t in any danger.” Nagito said in an attempt to calm Hajime down. Hajime sighed.

“I guess you’re right…” 

“Anyway, neither of you guys know anything about the other’s right? I think we should go introduce you guys to them. They’re all exploring the island, so we can kill two birds with one stone by meeting them and exploring!” Nagito chimed happily. Izuru nearly groaned. This was the part he was dreading. He hated interacting with people, but he was lucky enough to have Hajime there to help him out… 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s go then.” Hajime took out his e-Handbook and saw a map with everyone’s location displayed on it. It was a little unnerving to know that his location could be tracked but he decided not to think about it too much.

“So… where do you guys wanna go first?” Nagito asked.

“Why not the airport? Maybe they have a plane there that we can use?” Hajime said hopefully.

“I doubt it’s that easy but… OK.” Izuru said with a small sigh. With that the three of them walked to to the airport. When they entered, they saw two people standing there, Shark Week, and a guy with a long scarf and one red eye. 

“Airplanes! Does this mean we can get off?” Hajime asked excitedly.

“Nah, those things aren’t going nowhere. If they were just broken I could fix ‘em, and we’d already be out of here by now.” Shark week said.

“So… what’s the problem?”

“They’re empty. The engines have been completely taken out, they’re pretty much just for show now.” Shark week said scratching his cheek thoughtfully. Hajime seemed to deflate a little. It was cruel. Showing off the planes but not having them be of any use, it was like whoever put them here was taunting them.

“Ah, sorry, didn’t mean to start talking shop when we’ve only just met, and since we’ve only just met… Name’s Kazuichi Souda, Super High School Level Mechanic, nice to meetcha!” Izuru stared at the man for a few moments to read him. He seemed somewhat decent, if a bit odd with the hair and teeth choice.

“Just like his title says, Kazuichi’s a wizard with machine’s, if he says the planes can’t be fixed, they really can’t.” Nagito explained excitedly. 

“Bad stuff happens to engines you know, happens all the time, sad but true. But a grounded plane, with nothing else wrong but a missing engine, that’s intentional. Someone really wants us to stay here.” Kazuichi sounded a little nervous as he spoke but he quickly cheered up. “Ah well, this is unnatural but it’s nothing we can’t handle. We’re trapped here yeah but we’re not in any kind of danger, they’re not forcing us to do anything weird, take a look at the rules.” Hajime blinked and took out the small tablet in his pocket and looked at the rules that were displayed.

**Rule 1: Extreme violence is prohibited. Let’s live peacefully together here.**

**Rule 2: Gather Hope Shards and deepen bonds with your classmates**

**Rule 3: Littering and damaging the environment is forbidden. Let's live in harmony with nature on this beautiful island.**

**Rule 4: The supervising teacher will not interfere directly with student activities, unless any rules are broken.**

“The rules are pretty much like any other field trip’s really.” Despite that, Izuru still had a bad feeling, and wasn’t planning on letting his guard down at all. 

“No violence, no littering… looks like they really do want us to live peacefully here.” Nagito pondered. 

“But, can we really trust what Usami said? She kidnapped us!” Hajime yelled. He was getting annoyed with how carefree these people were being. 

“Don’t be so pessimistic Hajime. A hopeful outlook is indispensable part of the human condition!” Nagito said. Izuru could only mentally agree with his brother, seeing as how suspicious this whole situation was.

“I say we take it easy and see how things play out, y’know? Until something happens, just treat it like a vacation! Heh heh! Even that weird bunny is kinda cute once you take a good look at her!” Kazuichi cheered. Hajime was jealous of how lightly Kazuichi was taking this whole thing. 

The twins heard a chime from their e-Handbooks and when they looked they saw they’d collected another Hope Shard. If it was this easy to get them then they’d be out of here in no time! The twins and Nagito bid Kazuichi a farewell and made their way over to the other boy but suddenly:

“Come no closer fiends, if you value your life.” The guy with the scarf warned. Hajime blinked a few times in confusion, while Izuru stared.

“Excuse me?” Hajime asked.

“Hmph, even though you were warned you still persist, your courage is at least commendable.” The other commented. 

‘What’s with this guy?’ Hajime thought.

“Fuhahaha, tell me courageous ones, would you like to know my name? Do you believe yourselves worthy of hearing it?” This guy was getting more and more insane by the second, and truthfully… Izuru was quite interested. “I must admit, your show of bravado has amused me, very well, I shall tell you my name, may you never forget it even in **HELL!** My name is Gundam Tanaka, it is the name that shall one day rule this world!” The twins couldn’t help but stare at Gundam. 

‘Rule this world huh? Good luck with that buddy. I have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of ruling the world.’ Izuru thought to himself sarcastically. 

“Now tell me, who’s master are you?” Gundam asked seriously. Hajime was extremely confused now.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Answer me! Which tribe have you made your pact with?” Gundam’s tone was threatening, like he was losing his patience.

“Pact? What are you talking about?” Hajime was getting a little worried now. He had no idea how to answer.

“Answer me! Answer now for I shall destroy you once I do!” Gundam seemed to be getting angrier by the second.

“Then isn’t better if we don’t answer?” Izuru commented. He was getting bored by this guy’s antics, it was charming at first, but now it was becoming ridiculous.

“H-he’s probably asking if you guys have a pet.” Nagito explained.

“Pet? No… the only pet we’ve had was a hermit crab back in elementary school…” Hajime nervously answered.

“There was that one time we found a baby raccoon that had gotten hurt and we nursed it back to health.” Izuru reminded. It was a fond memory for him though. The raccoon was very tiny, and barely had any strength left. It had most likely been attacked by a dog so it had a few cuts and a broken arm. The brothers had wrapped up the cuts and put a makeshift cast on the broken bone. They fed it and gave it water until their parents had made them take it to the vet when the broken arm hadn’t gotten any better. The vet had taken it in and then had released it back to the wild. Though the raccoon had come back to their house a few times.

“So, you made a contract with a masked demon. Impressive! You two may not be simple humans after all! Fuahahaha!” Suddenly, something came out of Gundam’s scarf. Izuru had to look closer and suddenly he understood what it was.

“Hamsters?” Izuru was stunned. How had this guy gotten the hamsters to be so calm…

“Truly this is the secret art of the _Tanaka Empire!_ By using my own body as a bed I have tamed their evil spirits!” This guy… let the hamsters sleep in his scarf and clothes?

“He’s pretty much his own Dr. Dolittle. He truly deserves the title Super High School Level Animal Breeder.” Nagito praised. Animal Breeder? So that explains the hamsters, it doesn’t explain his attitude though.

“Hear what “Mirage Silver Falcon” _Jum-P_ , one of my Four Dark Devas of Destruction, has to say: “We will show no mercy, do not make us angry.” You should heed his warning.” Izuru highly doubted that the hamster had actually spoke, but he wasn’t about to say it out loud. Gundam gave a final, almost maniacal laugh. A chime came from their e-Handbooks so somehow this interaction had given them a Hope Shard. 

“A-anyway, he may be a bit odd but he’s really talented when it comes to animals. He saved several species from the brink of extinction, and there’s even a rumor that he can talk to animals.” Nagito explained excitedly. Hajime considered the possibility of Gundam actually being able to talk to animals, but he quickly threw that thought away.

Suddenly, one of Gundam’s hamsters, the chubby one, lept from his place on Gundam’s shoulder and onto Izuru’s. The long haired male let out a yelp of shock and tensed up a bit. The small animal gave a few squeaks of happiness and tried to burrow his way into Izuru’s shirt.

“N-no, bad hamster!” Izuru cried out.

“ _Ch-Cham-P!_ What are you doing? Could it be… are you an incarnation of a previous Dark Knight? Incredible!” Gundam shouted, but Izuru wasn’t really listening. He grabbed the hamster, Cham-P, and handed him back to Gundam.

Izuru quickly walked away, a bit embarrassed from the incident, with Hajime and Nagito in tow.

“You OK?” Hajime asked his brother.

“I’m fine…” Izuru wasn’t really that fine, she was was incredibly embarrassed for reacting the way he did.

“It was pretty cute though! Animals must really like you Izuru!” Nagito chimed in, making Izuru go slightly red. 

“Shut up, Nagito.” Izuru mumbled, making Hajime laugh a little. It’d been awhile since he’d seen his brother get genuinely embarrassed, and it made him happy. He suddenly felt something hit his head and he saw Izuru glaring at him. He looked down and saw that Izuru had literally thrown a coconut at his head.

“Is that how you wanna play?” Hajime threatened. Izuru merely smirked. 

“Bring it on.” Hajime picked up the coconut and threw it with all his might… but Izuru merely dodged, making Hajime let out a yell and tackle his brother to the ground.

“No, no! No fighting!” Usami yelled… until she saw what Hajime was actually doing.

“H-Hajime don’t you fucking-! Y-y-you ass!” Izuru was laughing. Usami saw that Hajime’s fingers were dug into Izuru’s sides and stomach. “Wh-wh-what are you?! F-f-five?!” Izuru was laughing his butt off, and Hajime had an evil grin on his face.

Nagito merely stared at the two, wondering if all siblings were like this or if it was only these two. When Hajime felt that Izuru had enough he stepped back, dodging the hit that Izuru threw at him. Hajime had a shit eating grin on his face, while Izuru was bright red in embarrassment. 

“I hate you so much.”

“Love you too bro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for only getting in Gundam and Kazuichi in this chapter but holy shit I underestimated how much dialogue is was in this. I hope you enjoy!


	3. Prologue 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More introductions

After the ferocious tickle battle, the three teens headed over to what looked like a supermarket. Upon entering the twins were surprised to see so much food and drinks, along with miscellaneous items like surfboards, swimsuits and… military items like night vision goggles and camo clothes.

Izuru glanced around, and saw two girls in the market. Horny hair girl, and the girl with bandages that made her look like a mummy. 

“Well, it looks like we won’t have to worry about food for now.” Nagito commented cheerfully.

“For now?” Hajime asked a little nervously.

“I-it’s just a figure of speech.” Nagito clarified. 

‘Bad figure of speech there buddy.’ Izuru dryly thought. “We still don’t know if any of this is edible though, it could be poisoned.” 

“He’s right.” Hajime agreed.

“You guys are too paranoid.” Nagito sighed, making Izuru feel frustrated at how lightly Nagito was taking this.

“Can you blame us? We’ve been kidnapped, there’s no one here but us, yet this supermarket is huge!” Hajime yelled angrily.

“Usami did say that this island is uninhabited though.” Was Nagito's reply. 

Izuru mentally groaned and was about to say something when he felt an odd feeling. The feeling of someone watching him. He turned and saw mummy girl looking at them. Hajime seemed to have felt it too and turned his head to the girl too.

“U-um, excuse me… um… y-you know…” She was stuttering so much and then suddenly started crying, surprising the two brothers. “I-I’m s-s-sorry…” 

“Bullying a girl, not cool you guys.” Nagito chastised. 

“I didn’t do anything!” Hajime yelled trying to defend himself. Izuru just rolled his eyes. The girl seemed to calm herself down enough to speak.

“U-Um… If-if I may ask, may I know your names? I-I-I’m sorry if that’s too f-f-forward!”

“I-it’s fine. I’m Hajime Hinata, and this is my brother Izuru.” Hajime gave the girl a small smile, and Izuru just nodded, not sure what else to do. This girl obviously had a low self esteem and had gone through some sort of extreme trauma. 

“M-My name is Mikan Tsumiki, f-from the bottom of my heart, I hope we can get along.” Izuru figured from her outfit and the bandages she was most likely a doctor or nurse.

“Um… um… um… I-I’m sorry! M-my mind is going blank… I-I even thought of 50,000 different topics to talk about after the introductions b-but I can’t remember any!” Mikan was crying again, harder than before even, which made Izuru slightly uncomfortable.

“It’s OK. Take your time. We’ll wait.” Izuru said, trying to calm her down. However, this seemed to backfire as Mikan gasped in shock and didn’t say a word.

“I... don't think I'd get anywhere by asking her, so I guess I'll just hear it from you.” Hajime said to Nagito.

“Mikan is the Super High School Level Nurse. If you’re hurt, she's the one you want at your side... so you'd better be nice to her! It might just save your life. Just think... even a little cut could slowly get more and more infected, until you die... all because you offended her.” Nagito said, a bit too cheerfully. Izuru was a little concerned about how easily Nagito could talk about these sorts of things.

“D-don’t say that with such a big smile on your face…” Hajime seemed to feel the same way. Mikan gave a small giggle at their exchange.

“Ah! I’m sorry for laughing so suddenly! I-I couldn’t help it, it’s just been so long since I made new friends and I was just so happy… Oh, but you never said we were friends, I’m sorry for saying something so presumptuous!” Mikan was, once again crying. Izuru, feeling pity for her, walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, making the girl squeal.

“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize for everything. If you want, we can… hang out sometime, you seem like you need a friend.” Izuru tried his best to sound confident and comforting but Mikan just started crying again.

“Th-thank you! I’m-I’m so grateful! I-I-I’ll do my best to not mess up!” Izuru stepped back a little bit and gave the tiniest of smiles. Deciding that Mikan wasn’t going to calm down any time soon Izuru walked back over to Hajime and Nagito.

Hajime was smiling widely at his brother, looking very proud.

“I’m proud of you. I’ve never seen you do something like that!” Hajime wrapped one arm around his brother’s shoulders and pulled him close. Izuru gave a grumble.

“Her crying was getting old…” Though both of them knew Izuru was just trying to save himself from more embarrassment. Nagito didn’t say anything, just smiled happily. The three walked over to Horny hair now, seeing her looking at all the things on the shelves. 

“Looking… looking… look- Oh hey! I haven’t seen you guys before!” She was quite loud, and Izuru felt like it was going to get old.

“Um… Hi, I’m Hajime Hinata and this-” The girl suddenly cut him off.

“Huh? Where’s the energy, are you still asleep or something? That’s not how you do an introduction, this is! "Ibu" from Ibuki Mioda! "Ki" from Ibuki Mioda! "Mio" from Ibuki Mioda! "Da" from Ibuki Mioda! That’s me - Ibuki Mioda!” Yep, she was definitely as weird as her hair.

“But this supermarket is something else huh? They have all kinds of stuff. Ramen, burgers, cola, chili, pasta and even melons! That's food that can satisfy Americans and Chinese and Mexicans and Germans and Italians... even Yubari residents! This is so exciting that it makes me hungry! Why does being excited make Ibuki hungry? The human body is so weird!”

“Um… this highly energetic girl is our Super High School Level Light Music Club member. She comes from a girls-only high school, where she played guitar for a super-popular girl band. I heard that their hit single, "After-school Poyoyon Hour" sold a million copies.” Nagito explained. Over a million copies? That was certainly impressive, and Hajime thought he might have heard something about that before. “But I heard she left the band after creative differences.”

“Creative differences?” Izuru asked. Ibuki turned her gaze to him.

“Ooh, are you curious about Ibuki’s story?” Said girl questioned.

“Y-you heard him?” Hajime asked.

“Of course! Ibuki is in a band, so she has really good hearing! Just like Schubert and Bach and Edison and Van Gogh and Pele and Senna... a gifted musician!” Izuru had to restrain himself from slapping himself in the face. 

“Two thirds of those people are musicians.” He mumbled.

“Details, details! Anyway, you never introduced Ibuki to the cutie with the long hair! His hair is soooo long and cool, Ibuki just wants to braid it! Oh-oh! Is it soft? Ibuki needs to know!” She was so excited and was getting closer to Izuru.

“L-like I said, I’m Hajime Hinata and this is my brother Izuru.”

“Oooh! Can I touch your hair Izzy? I have some hair ties so we can braid your hair! Or we could put it in pigtails! Or-” Izuru had walked away quickly, before Ibuki could even try what she wanted to do.

“S-sorry about that, he’s not good with people.” Hajime explained before running after his brother. Izuru was sulking a bit by a tree, seeming both annoyed and bored at the same time. He was playing with a strand of his hair absentmindedly.

“Hey. You OK?” Hajime asked his brother.

“‘m fine.” Izuru mumbled.

“I’m sorry about Ibuki, she gets excitable sometimes. I don’t think she meant any harm.” Nagito seemed concerned for Izuru, which kind of made the red eyed male feel a little better. 

“Let’s just go.” Izuru walked off without waiting for the other two to answer. He made his way over to the hotel, past the cottages and to the pool area. He scanned the small open space, seeing Chihuahua, the guy who looked like a Jojo reject, and the girl with tomato hair. Hajime and Nagito managed to catch up to him, both a bit out of breath. 

“Izuru! Dammit, don’t walk so fast, you butt.” Izuru rolled his eyes at his brother. He looked at Hajime and motioned to the three people that they hadn’t met yet. 

“Who should we talk to first?” Izuru kind of wanted to talk to the Chihuahua guy first, just to see what he’d do.

“Um… I guess that big guy over there?” Hajime suggested. Izuru nodded and followed him.

“Hmm, I don’t think you guys have asked me for my name yet. My name is Nekomaru Nidai! The Super High School Level Coach, NEKOMARU NIDAI!” The guy once again proved that his voice was just as big as his body.

“U-um… my name is Hajime Hinata.” Hajime was incredibly intimidated by this guy, so instead of introducing Izuru like he had been before, he gave Izuru a look, telling him to introduce himself. Izuru sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to change Hajime’s mind about this.

“I am Izuru Hinata.” 

“SPEAK UP YOU TWO! PUT YOUR BELLY INTO IT! AGAIN!” Nekomaru yelled.

“U-um… Hajime Hinata!” 

“Izuru Hinata.” Despite the fact that Hajime had tried to speak up, Izuru had simply let his voice stay the same volume, not in the mood to yell.

“LOUDER! AGAIN!”

“I’m Hajime Hinata! Nice to meet you!” Hajime yelled at the top of his lungs. Izuru merely sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere unless he complied, so raising his voice just a bit he repeated his name. This seemed to placate Nekomaru. 

“MY NAME IS NEKOMARU NIDAIIIIII! A NAME YOU WON'T FORGET! EVEN WHEN YOU'RE IN HELL! "SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL COACH" NEKOMARU NIDAI! THAT'S! MY! NAAAAAAAME!!” Nekomaru screamed at the top of his lungs, hurting Izuru’s ears. 

“W-we heard you, you don’t have to repeat yourself.” Hajime mumbled.

“Gahahaha! I agree to your terms!” Nekomaru replied eagerly. ‘Well… he’s certainly has a lot of energy.' Hajime thought.

“Hmm. You there. String bean. You seemed confident earlier that you could open that door. Someone as scrawny as you couldn’t possibly do something so impressive.” Izuru was impressed that Nekomaru had remembered that from earlier.

“I’m stronger than I look.” Was the simple reply.

“Oh really? Catch!” Nekomaru suddenly picked up one of the lawn chairs and threw it at Izuru, which the shorter male caught easily, putting it back down on the ground. 

“Incredible! Someone was weak and scrawny looking as you did something so easily! Come train with me sometime! Gahahaha! Bring your bro too! He seems like he needs some training!” Hajime blushed a little at that. It was true that he wasn’t as strong as Izuru, but he was still fairly strong. The two had tried exercising with each other in the past but that’d been given up on due to school.

“I’ll think about it.” Hajime gave Nekomaru a large smile. The brother’s ears were still slightly ringing however.

“Nekomaru is the Super High School Level Coach as he said.” Nagito said happily.

“A coach huh? I know it’s his title and all but just a coach?” Hajime was a little confused as to how being a coach was a talent. 

“Of course he’s not “just a coach”! He’s a “Super High-school Level Coach”. He's been moving from school to school, coaching their various sports teams. For example, there was that group of delinquents he trained into a rugby team that won the national international school cup... Then there was that baseball team he took from the brink of collapse all the way to the big leagues... There's a rumor that a famous Japanese pitcher now playing for an American Major League team came to him for training.” Nagito seemed to know a lot about these people. Izuru figured it was from the internet, as he knew that there were several forums, on these students.

‘Still… with a body like that he should be on the teams instead of coaching them…” Hajime thought. The three walked over to the next person, Chihuahua.

“Who the hell are you? Don’t try and act all friendly with me and shit assholes.” The small, baby faced boy yelled. ‘Well that’s one way to greet someone. Definitely a chihuahua.’ Izuru thought sarcastically. 

“What’s up with that face? You got a problem with me you jackass?” 

“C-calm down Fuyuhiko, we’re just here to introduce ourselves.” Nagito seemed to do a decent job of calming the foul mouth down, since he didn’t seem to be wanting to strangle them anymore. “These guys haven’t introduced themselves yet remember?”

“Tch… Name’s Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, just so we’re clear, I don’t plan to act all friendly and shit with you guys.” Despite his attitude, Hajime had to admit the guy was kind of adorable with his baby face.

“Fuyuhiko is the heir to the Kuzuryuu clan.” Nagito explained. Both brothers tensed slightly as the heard that.

“K-Kuzuryuu clan? You don’t mean _the_ Kuzuryuu clan?” Hajime asked incredulously. Izuru didn’t want to believe it either. _This_ little baby faced fucker was the heir to a yakuza clan?

“I’m sure you’ve at least heard of them, with over 30,000 members across the country. So yes, Fuyuhiko is the Super High School Level Yakuza.” Nagito sounded far too happy while explaining this to the brothers.

‘I wonder how much I can push him before he beats me to a bloody pulp.’ Izuru wondered. He wasn’t scared of the yakuza, especially since they were on this island, and Fuyuhiko had none of his body guards around.

“Also, mentioning his baby face is forbidden, you’ll run out of fingers before he’s done with you.” Nagito warned. Hajime gulped.

“Nagito, you’re like, my savior or something.” Hajime said gratefully. 

“Y-you’re just saying that… I guess not.” Nagito seemed bashful when Hajime said that, implying that he wasn’t used to getting compliments like that.

“Hey bastards, are we all done here? If so, why don’t you make like a tree and fuck off?” Izuru saw this as the perfect time to test out his idea.

“I believe the phrase is: ‘Make like a tree and _leave_.’” He responded with a straight face. Nagito looked like he was about to shit his pants and Hajime had gone pale.

“I KNOW WHAT I SAID YOU RAPUNZEL LOOKING ASS BITCH!” Fuyuhiko screamed.

“You really are like a chihuahua. Small and adorable and a big attitude, but you’re all bark.” Hajime let out a yell and tried to pull Izuru away before he could say anything else.

“You son of a bitch. Say that again, I dare you!” Fuyuhiko swung his fist at Izuru, putting all his might into it, but before the punch could land, Izuru dodged out of the way. Fuyuhiko had no time to prepare before he fell face first into the pool. Hajime made use of this and ran with Izuru and Nagito to the red headed girl, who seemed to be taking pictures of Fuyuhiko’s misery. 

“I have to admit, you were acting like a jackass, but so was he, so I’m not too mad at you for that.” The girl said as they came over.

“My brother is an idiot and he is going to die.” Hajime said simply. Izuru had a small smirk on his face.

“Hey, aren’t you the guy who passed out on the beach?” Hajime went red and nodded. “You shouldn’t be so fragile! The guys are supposed to protect the girls right?” 

“I… I guess…” Hajime mumbled.

“You’re here for introductions right? I don’t think we’ve made ours yet. Um, my name is Mahiru Koizumi, nice to meet you I guess.” 

“You’re the Super High School Level Photographer I’m assuming.” Izuru said.

“Huh? How’d you know?” Mahiru asked.

“The camera you have is a big hint.” 

“You’re right Izuru! Mahiru’s won all sorts of awards. I don’t know much about photography myself though.” Nagito affirmed happily. 

“I have to say I’m relieved, you guys seem to be somewhat decent.” Mahiru commented.

“Hm? Decent?” Hajime asked.

“Everyone else here’s kinda weird, don't you think? I mean, they may all be Super High-school Level geniuses, but… I was worried that maybe we wouldn’t get along. But I guess we’ll have to if we ever want to leave this island…” Mahiru seemed to be a bit nervous.

“Wait, “leave this island”... we can leave?!” Hajime asked excitedly.

“That stuffed animal Usami said we can after we gather all those Hope Shards.” Mahiru explained.

“You were unconscious when it happened Hajime, don’t feel too bad.” Izuru said. 

“Does that make you feel a little better though? I mean, knowing that we can leave this island eventually?” Nagito asked. Izuru had to refrain from commenting, knowing that he’d rant if he did.

“It’s just… why is she doing this? It makes no sense!” Hajime yelled. 

“True, we don’t know her motives, but she doesn’t seem malicious, so it’s no big deal!” Hajime felt frustrated. ‘No big deal’ he said! Here they were on a deserted island on a ‘field trip’ without warning or consent, that seemed like a pretty big deal to him!

“Hey!” Mahiru yelled

“Eh?” Hajime asked. 

“Don’t ‘eh’ me! Don’t you think you should introduce yourself too? Or are you going to keep me waiting?” She asked.

“O-oh, right. I’m Hajime Hinata. And this is-” He looked over and saw that Izuru wasn’t standing next to him. He looked around and saw the other kneeling next to some flowers, staring at them intently.

“Hey! Get over here.” Hajime grabbed his brother’s arm and dragged him back. “This is my brother Izuru. Sorry, he gets… distracted easily.” Hajime didn’t want to say that Izuru got bored, out of fear that Mahiru would get angry.

“Hmph, whatever. I regret to inform you that he is now called ‘Izuru the unreliable.’ He better work hard to shake that off! And you better work hard to not earn the same title. Act more like men!” Mahiru yelled.

“Hajime, I think your wife is keeping you on a short leash.” Nagito teased.

“You too!” She yelled at Nagito.

The group sighed and walked into the large hotel, where the girl that looked like a female Yu Narukami was waiting, as a girl playing a videogame with a Space Invader like hair pin in her hair.

“Yep. Just as magnificent and classy on the inside as it is on the outside.” Nagito seemed so happy about this, and Izuru had to admit that the place was impressive.

“You know, if this was a regular field trip, I'd have a big dumb grin on my face too ...But, why is there no one in this hotel except us? Where are all the staff?” Hajime asked nervously.

“Well, Usami said this Island was uninhabited after all.” But an uninhabited island with perfectly maintained facilities, electricity and probably running water was unnatural. 

The three walked over to the girl playing video games, but got no reaction when they approached her.

“Um, excuse me.” Hajime said, but the girl didn’t take her eyes off the game.

“Hey, Chiaki!” Nagito yelled, finally getting the girl’s attention after a second. She seemed to have slow reflexes.

“Ah, sorry. I got a bit too into the game.” She said. Her voice was soft, and kind of sleepy.

“No kidding, you were totally lost in it.” Nagito laughed a little as he said this.

“Um… you want me to introduce myself right? ….” She paused. “I’m Chiaki Nanami, Super High School Level Gamer, I’m a fan of all genres.” She said. A gamer? 

“My name’s Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you.”

“Izuru Hinata. Likewise.” 

“............... Yeah, you too.” Chiaki replied.

“You aren’t good with conversations are you?” Hajime asked.

“She _is_ still playing that game you know.” Nagito explained.

“.... No, it’s not that. I can't speak well unless I compose everything I want to say inside my head first. If I don't have every word prepared, I'm just not a very good speaker…” The girl hadn’t taken her eyes off the game for a second as she spoke. She suddenly yawned, rubbing her eyes. “I’m sleepy…” She mumbled. 

The three walked away, leaving Chiaki to take a small nap at the arcade game, instead going towards the female Yu Narukami.

“Do you want something?” She asked.

“Um… we’re here to introduce ourselves.” Hajime said nervously.

“Introduce ourselves… I do not mind.” 

“I’m Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you.”

“Izuru Hinata.” Izuru hadn’t taken his eyes off of the thing on her back. It looked like a sword, but he doubted that rabbit would allow a real sword on this island.

“I am Peko Pekoyama. It is an honor to meet you.” The girl, Peko, said politely.

“This gallant young woman has a talent with swords - she’s a Super High-school Level Swordswoman. Peko Pekoyama... Her cute name may not convey this very well, but... Her swordplay is so good that most adult men can't beat her.” Nagito seemed so excited to explain all these things to the brothers.

“If what that bunny told us is true, then we must live together on this island. If men and women are to live together, mutual understanding is of utmost importance. We must have no ill feelings between us.” Peko claimed stoically.

“That’s true.” Hajime answered.

“I would prefer… not to kill anyone.” The tone of her voice had changed slightly, it was more threatening.

“K-kill? But that sword on your back is just made of bamboo right?” Hajime seemed terrified now.

“Even so, a blow in the wrong place can be fatal… no, a strike in the _right_ place I should say...” Izuru was impressed to be honest, she seemed to be a level headed person, but was more than willing to take action if needed. Izuru would have to be careful around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, in this there will be some references to the DR3 anime, but not a whole lot. I'm one of the fans who have decided to ignore 90% of what happens there because of continuity errors and plot-holes and disappointing story line.


	4. It begins

The three managed to find their way to the ranch. It was a bit impressive to know that this place had the resources for a ranch. However, there weren’t many animals there.

“This will not do!” Usami suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Agh! Where do you keep coming from?” Hajime yelled. He was getting tired of getting scared by her.

“The system allows me to appear anywhere and everywhere on this island. I’m such an elusive bunny! It’s all thanks to my magic stick!” She held up her wand, making the brothers confused. That toy was what let her move around so easily? “Oh but this will not do, a farm without any moo-cows is like a soccer team without any balls!” Izuru bit the inside of his cheek to not chuckle at her choice of words.

“You might want to rephrase that…” Nagito laughed a little however.

“OK! Stand back and leave it to me!” Usami suddenly went over to a chicken that was pecking at the ground, and waved her magic stick. “Wooo-eee-ooo... Woo-woo-wee-wee-woo-wooooo...! Chicken! Turn into a moo-cow!” Suddenly, there was a flash of light and where the chicken had stood, was a cow.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Hajime screamed. Izuru couldn’t help but stare. That… how the hell?

“Humph! A huge success!” Usami cried right before she disappeared again. 

“What? A chicken… into a cow? How?” Hajime seemed to be having trouble speaking, not sure what to make of the whole situation.

“It’s probably just a magic trick, it was probably set up before we got here, probably to make us happy… though I guess it had the opposite effect on you Hajime…” Nagito seemed confident in his words, but… 

Izuru walked up to the cow, approaching it slowly, and put his hand on it’s side. It was solid, and definitely alive, so how did she do it? He slowly pet the cow gently, liking how soft and warm it was. The cow gave a content moo.

“Anyway… let’s just… move on.” Hajime said with an exhausted expression. The group walked over to the small girl, who was pressing her fingers down onto the ground with all her might.

“Squish! Squish!” She cheered. Izuru tilted his head to the side, confused as to what she was doing.

“Um, excuse us, we haven’t introduced ourselves right? I’m Hajime Hinata, and this is my brother, Izuru.” Hajime said. The girl looked up curiously.

“Oh? I’m Hiyoko Saionji.” She said before going back to whatever she was doing. Izuru looked at the ground and was able to see lots of ants around, and he put two and two together. She was squishing ants?

“Hiyoko’s talent has won her the title of Super High-school Level Traditional Dancer. She's a rising star in the Japanese classical dancing circles, and I heard she even regularly performs abroad. They say her performances are attended by a surprisingly young crowd for Japanese classical dance shows. Well, I guess most of the audience is male, though.” Nagito explained. Izuru wrinkled his nose at the thought. She did look like a little girl, and he could only imagine what her fans were like.

“Squish! Squish!” She yelled again.

“Hey… what are you doing?” Hajime asked.

“Huh? I’m squishing!” She said. 

“Squishing what?” Hajime asked, tilting his head slightly. ‘You’re not gonna like the answer Hajime…’ Izuru thought.

“Mr. Ant, duh! I’m squishing lots of Mr. Ants!” She said with a scary look on her face. “If you squish their tummies just right they make this awesome sound!”

“That would be the sound of their guts and various gasses collapsing under the pressure and escaping through the anus.” Izuru explained. The girl looked disgusted.

“Ew! I didn’t need to know _that_!” Hiyoko yelled. Izuru humphed and turned away from her. The little girl turned to Hajime.

“Hey big bro Hajime! You wanna squish with me?” She asked.

“Hell no!” Hajime was surprised at the girl’s offer, as well as the difference between her appearance and personality.

“Hmph, whatever. You wuss.” She said, while going back to her ant genocide. The group walked away from her, leaving her to her activities.

“How much longer until she moves onto something bigger, like cats?” Izuru asked.

“Don’t say that. Kids do stuff like that all the time!” Hajime said, not wanting to think bad of the girl.

“She’s a high schooler, not five.” Hajime didn’t have time to retort as they’d approached the next person.

“Hey! Who’re you dudes?” It was the girl with the rather large bust.

“We haven’t met yet right? I’m Hajime Hinata.” Izuru waited for his brother to introduce him, but instead he got an elbow to the ribs. 

“Izuru Hinata.” 

“Oh sweet! Are you guys brothers or something?” She asked. Izuru only nodded. “Awesome! I’ve got a bunch of siblings too! I’m Akane Owari by the way, nice to meetcha! And that guy there is?” She asked looking at Nagito.

“Huh? We’ve already met though…” Nagito seemed a bit sad that she hadn’t remembered his name.

“Oh! Sorry, I have a hard time with remembering names.” She said looking a little bashful.

“I’m Nagito Komaeda, please, don’t forget my name again.”

“Got it, got it!” She said happily.

“A-anyway, Akane is the Super High School Level Gymnast. According to rumors, she's difficult to deal with, but... her physical abilities, at least, are something to behold. It's just that her foundations and basic techniques are all messed up. All she ever does is keep inventing her own personal moves. She can put on a magnificent performance when her mind's on it, but when it isn't she doesn't even bother showing up to the competition.” Izuru could relate. If something was boring to him he wouldn’t participate either. Akane did look like an athlete though, even if those large breasts would get in the way of some things.

The group decided to walk to the park area, where they saw a huge statue in the middle. Izuru looked at it for a moment, then looked around. He could hear his brother and Nagito talking about it, but he wasn’t listening. His eyes came to rest on the fat blond from earlier. The guy seemed familiar, and then it hit him. Izuru walked over to the blond.

“Byakuya Togami, heir to the Togami corporation.” Izuru stated as he approached the man.

“Correct, I’m shocked that peon such as yourself can recognize such greatness.” Byakuya said with a smirk on his face.

“It wasn’t hard. Your family’s face is plastered on the news all the time, and they’ve mentioned you before.” 

“Izuru! Dammit, don’t walk off like that!” He turned to see Hajime walking over to the two, looking frustrated.

“I’m just introducing myself.” 

“Still, we don’t know if this place is safe, so you need to be careful!” Hajime worried too much about him in Izuru’s eyes. Izuru could take care of himself, and there wasn’t much he couldn’t handle himself.

“This is good though! After all, you guys haven’t been introduced to him yet right?” Nagito asked.

“Apparently, this one already knows who I am.” Byakuya said. Izuru nodded.

“Really? Uh… who is he?” Hajime seemed confused and Izuru nearly groaned. His brother needed to pay attention to things more in his opinion.

“I am Byakuya Togami.” 

“O-oh… Um, I’m Hajime Hinata, and this is my brother Izuru. Nice to meet you.” Hajime seemed to recognize the name however, and seemed embarrassed. 

“Are we done here? If so, leave.” The blond seemed to be in a crappy mood.

“Jeez… what’s his problem?” Hajime asked.

“Well… he is the Super High School Level Heir. He’s the heir to the Togami corporation.” Nagito explained.

“So, he thinks he’s better than everyone because of his status?” Hajime questioned.

“Seems so.” Izuru was considering knocking Byakuya down a few notches to make him see he’s not so better, but then he remembered the rules, and that idea was thrown out the window.

“Just one more place we haven’t been. Let’s go!” Nagito said as he started walking off with the twins in tow. When they entered the restaurant, they saw two people talking. The foreign girl with the bow, and the pudgy chef hat guy.

“That's right... It's terrible if it gets swollen by poison. That's why you must suck the poison out with your mouth as soon as possible…” The guy with the chef had a nose bleed.

“I see, suck it out.” The girl said. Izuru wasn’t sure what was going on but he didn’t like it.

“Um, excuse me.” Hajime said, walking up to the pair. The chef hat guy sighed.

“And I was getting close too.” The pudgy man mumbled under his breath. Izuru suddenly understood and was disgusted. This guy was trying to manipulate a girl into… probably doing something nasty.

“Good day.” The girl said politely.

“Hello. My name is Hajime Hinata.” He grabbed Izuru’s wrist and pulled him over. “And _this_ is my brother Izuru.” Izuru nodded. The guy with the chef hat gave a laugh.

“Oh my, twins! I’m so lucky, I’ve never gotten a chance to do something with twins before. Ooh, I bet you guys are freaky.” Izuru had to clench his fist from punching the small man. “My name is Teruteru Hanamura, they call me the Super High School Level Cook, but I prefer the word chef, it’s far more classy.” 

“Oh, now that you mention it, I have not introduced myself to you two yet have I? My name is Sonia Nevermind. I come from the small European kingdom of Novoselic. I came to Japan as an exchange student. I hope we can be friends.” Her speech was very polite and regal. It was quite impressive. Izuru could tell that Hajime was distracted by the girl’s appearance, but truthfully, he wasn’t too interested. 

“Sonia is the Super High School Level Princess, she’s actual royalty.” Nagito said. Izuru blinked a few times.

“Royalty? If you are royalty, then why are you here? I mean… why is a princess attending a school in Japan?” Izuru asked.

“Oh, that is simple! I love Japanese culture, and I wanted to attend school here to know what it is like!” Sonia said enthusiastically. 

“Um, this may seem a measure impudent... but... if I may be perfectly honest, that I am here pleases me a little.” Sonia said nervously.

“Eh? It does? Why?” Hajime asked.

“Back in my home country, I had no friends of my own age, so everyone being gathered here for this activity is most novel! I applaud you!” She yelled happily.

“Um… thank you?” 

“Hey, you guys aren’t trying to leave me out of this are you?” Teruteru butted in. Izuru dug his nails into his palm to keep himself from being sarcastic. He imagined Hajime wouldn’t like it if he did.

“N-no… sorry.” Hajime apologized.

“It’s no surprise you’re here at the restaurant Teruteru. Does it fit the expectations of the Super High School Level Chef?” Nagito questioned. Izuru nearly snorted at the fact that Nagito used what Teruteru wanted to be called instead of his actual title.

“Heh heh heh... I'd be lying if I said it didn't. And since I don't want to be a liar, I'll tell you the truth right here.Yeah. It very much fits my expectations. The urban mood of my home neighborhood Minato is fine, but this kind of rural atmosphere is also magnificent.” Teruteru seemed to be excited about the kitchen, which kind of made Izuru question _why_ there was such a good kitchen at a place like this.

“Hey, Teruteru?” Hajime asked.

“Oh? What is it? Are you going to confess your love to me? How cute!” After he said that, Izuru stepped in between Hajime and Teruteru, giving the cook a glare that made the small man freeze. 

“What was that?” Izuru asked.

“U-u-um… gotta go!” Teruteru ran out of the restaurant, making small sounds of terror as he ran.

“That… wasn’t very nice Izuru.” Sonia chided.

“He was hitting on my brother, and you.” 

“Huh? He was hitting on me?” Sonia asked, tilting her head. Izuru sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Though, I think that’s everyone!” Suddenly, as soon as Nagito said that, a bell chimed.

“Huh? Was that a school bell?” Hajime asked. Izuru turned his attention to the monitor, where the sound seemed to come from. Usami suddenly appeared on the screen.

“Congratulations everyone! It looks like everyone has gathered their first set of Hope Shards! Ooh, this makes me so happy! I’ve prepared special presents so that you can be happy too! Please, gather back up on the beach so I can give them to you!” With that, the monitor shut off.

“S-she wants us to go to the beach? Should we- AGH!” Hajime was about to question if they should go to the beach or not, when Izuru picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder. “Izuru what are you doing?!”

“There’s no use in asking if we should go or not. We should just go anyway, you were going to argue about this so I decided to skip that part.” With that, he started walking off towards the beach, leaving a confused Nagito and Sonia behind.

 

When they reached the beach, everyone had made it before them, including Nagito and Sonia somehow.

“You two are the last ones, what took you so long?” Byakuya asked. Izuru put Hajime down, who gave a grumble of anger in response.

“He was being stubborn.” Izuru explained.

“Hmph, it doesn’t matter. First, we need to discuss what we found.” And so everyone took turns explaining the things that they had found on the island… including Teruteru.

“I found something very important! _Girls!_ Lots of cute girls, plus a few boys!” The fat chef laughed at this, all with blood dripping from his nose.

“Eww! Gross! Ibuki’s got goosebumps!” Izuru felt the girl’s pain.

“You simpletons. That’s not important right now. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?” Byakuya said.

“Noticed what?” Izuru asked.

“You moron. That big statue in the park.” 

“The one with the snake, horse, man, bird and whatever on it? What’s so important about that?” Akane asked, looking confused.

“Among the islands of the pacific ocean, there is one famous for its scenic beauty. Its everlasting summer makes it a sort of paradise. It's not actually a single island, but a group of five closely encircling a small central one. Those five islands are represented by five sacred animals.The name of this island is… Jabberwock Island.” Byakuya said. Izuru had heard of the island before. It was a popular tourist spot. But this being Jabberwock Island made no sense if it was uninhabited. As Izuru thought he toned out whatever was going on around him, until he heard Hajime yell.

“Hey, what are you saying? Try thinking rationally! We were all supposed to enroll at Hope's Peak Academy, weren't we? And now, we suddenly have to live on this island? This is strange, however you look at it!” His brother was obviously upset, and Izuru moved closer, to let Hajime know that he was there.

“Be silent, your fears have made you irrational.” Gundam said. Izuru wanted to defend his brother, but before he could say anything: 

“W...Well, it isn’t like we have anywhere to escape to, even if we wanted to…”

“There’s no boats... and there may as well be no planes, either.”

“Nor, as far as I can tell, is there any means of communication with the outside world. Therefore, it will be difficult to call for help.”

“Can’t we just swim back?”

“I can't swim that far...!”

“‘CAN’T’?! WHERE'S YOUR SPIRIT?!”

“Hey, she's right - it's impossible!” Everyone was talking one right after another, and it was kind of hurting his head.

“We should just cut down some trees and-” Before Izuru could finish his sentence, a certain white rabbit popped up.

“You can’t do that! I am very serious about that. Remember our rules! They're in the guide to this field trip! ‘Throwing garbage and damaging the environment is forbidden. Let's live in harmony with nature on this beautiful island.’ See? All I wish is for you to live peacefully with your friends and the nature on this beautiful tropical island!” Usami yelled out. 

“Why should we listen to you? We never agree-” Izuru grabbed his brother’s wrist.

“Calm down. If we break her rules, she could harm us.” Izuru warned. Hajime went a little pale at that.

“What? No-no! I would never hurt you!”

“A-anyway, it doesn’t look like there’s any danger so… we should be OK.” Mikan said.

“She said if we gathered those Hope Shards, we’d be able to leave. So… let’s just do that.”

“But…” 

“There’s no use arguing Hajime. Let’s just go with it.” Izuru knew this situation was suspicious, but he was going to watch it play out, and if something happened, he’d take action.

“I… fine.” 

“Heeey, Usami! You said you had presents for us right?” Ibuki yelled out.

“Of course! Here you are!” Usami suddenly gave everyone a small keychain like object. “Tada! Usami charms! If you press the tummy it talks.” To prove her point, the rabbit pressed on the stomach of her charm duplicate: “My name is Usami Magical Girl Miracle ★Usami! I’m sweet like milk!”

Izuru stared at the small charm in his hand. ‘... Cute.’ He quickly put the small charm in his pocket, and watched a bit sadly as almost everyone else threw theirs on the beach, making Usami get very upset. He was happy to notice that Hajime didn’t throw his away.

“I-I even prepared another present, but I don’t want to give it to you bad kids anymore.” Usami cried.

“Another present? What is it?” Peko asked.

“C-compared to the charms, it’s nothing special… I just prepared a motive.” The word ‘motive’ made Izuru’s blood run cold. 

“A… motive?” Hajime questioned.

“That’s right! A motive for everyone to become friends.” The rabbit dropped two bags onto the ground. “I’ve prepared swimsuits for you all! They’re school swimsuits but still swimsuits!” 

“You want us to wear swimsuits now?” Hajime asked incredulously. 

“I’m not ordering you… I just thought it’d be a nice bonding exercise.” Usami said, looking a bit scared.

“W...Who'd ever swim in this kind of place?! No one would agree to just jump into the ocean when we don't even know how we got here...!” As Hajime said that Izuru was counting down in his head for someone to prove Hajime wrong. 3… 2… 1…

“Yahoo!” Ibuki yelled out, grabbing a swimsuit for herself. Izuru sighed as he watched a few other people do the same. The ones who grabbed the swimsuits ran off to change.

“So… what are you guys going to do?” Nagito asked. Both twins said nothing. “I understand how you two feel, but try and relax, there’s no danger here, no cause for despair.” With that Nagito left to go change as well.

Some students stayed on the beach, and when the twins talked to them, they found out why. Byakuya didn’t like salt water, Chiaki was too sleepy, Hiyoko wanted to cause chaos on the crabs at the beach, Fuyuhiko was Fuyuhiko and Akane… 

“What are you doing?!” Hajime yelled.

“Huh? I’m going swimming.” Izuru had a small blush on his face as she started to strip. He might not be interested in things like that but it was still embarrassing to see a girl naked. Luckily, Usami stopped her before she could get undressed. Around that time everyone else had come back and jumped into the water.

Izuru merely sat down on the sand, watching the others. Hajime sat next to him, seeming deep in thought.

“Do you think… we should join them? I mean… there doesn’t seem to be anything sinister going on but still…” Hajime asked, looking nervous. Izuru sighed, weighing their options.

“It’s not a good idea to leave our guard down just yet.” Was all the taller twin said. Hajime hummed and watched the others with a bit of jealousy in his eyes. 

“Hajime, you ca-” Before Izuru could tell his brother that it was fine to join the others, the sky suddenly went dark, making Izuru jump to his feet. 

“What’s going on? Why’d it get so dark?” Izuru turned to Usami, looking ready to strangle the stuffed rabbit if she didn’t answer.

“W-what? What’s going on? No, this isn’t supposed to…” Izuru was startled to see that she didn’t know either… then… a voice…

“Ahem, ahem, can you hear me? Can you hear me? I got you guys didn’t I? Didn’t I? I’m very sorry to keep you waiting, but now I’m here. Meet up at Jabberwock Park you bastards!”


	5. Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so some of you have been wondering who's shipped with who. At the end, it's going to be like:  
> Nagito: Sorry I'm late, I was doing stuff... and things... and... y'know.  
> Hajime: I'm stuff.  
> Izuru: I'm things.  
> Chiaki: And I'm y'know.

Izuru’s entire body was rigid in fear, but he quickly schooled his expression, not wanting to show a single sign of weakness in front of all these people. He knew that he had a right to be suspicious now. 

“This voice? Could it be? Oh no this is terrible! I have to do something!” Usami yelled as she disappeared. Izuru knew things were bad now, if even the light hearted Usami was freaking out. He reached out to grab Hajime’s hand, in an attempt to comfort both himself and Hajime. The slightly shorter twin grabbed onto his brother’s hand anxiously, not sure what was going on.

“I… think we should go… whatever this is.” Chiaki whispered, looking just as anxious as everyone else.

“He said Jabberwock Park right? Let’s hurry!” Akane yelled, running after everyone else. Izuru had zoned out however, thinking about what this could possibly be. This situation just kept getting weirder and weirder. He wouldn’t show it though. To everyone else, he seemed unaffected, making some of them confused. 

Before he knew it however, Hajime was tugging on his hand, bringing him back to reality. 

“C’mon, we gotta go.” Hajime seemed hesitant, but when Izuru started walking, Hajime followed, until they reached the park, where everyone else was, somehow having gotten dressed rather quickly.

“Show yourself! Where are you hiding?” Usami yelled, holding her wand and looking around. Izuru had no idea what, or who she was looking for, but he looked as well, moving himself closer to Hajime.

“Who are you talking about?” He asked, suddenly, an unnatural laugh rang out, and _something_ sprang up from behind the large statue, sitting on it.

“Long time no see you bastards! Did you miss me?” The thing asked excitedly. “I am Monokuma, I am the headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy!” Monokuma? Izuru now understood it was a stuffed bear with a really lame name. 

“And now that I’ve made my appearance I have this to say! Lame, lame! This is the lamer than the lamest lame that ever lamed!” The bear yelled out. 

“As I thought, it was _you!_ B-but, why is Monokuma here?!” Usami screamed, seeming very confused.

“Shut it rabbit! I’m livid you know? This lukewarm attitude you have is making me sick! Sick I say! What is this anyway? It’s so hopelessly boring! No one wants to see this! They don’t want to see high school kids living happily! They want to see other’s misery and… despair…” The bear’s tone had taken a dark tone at the last sentence, making a chill run up Izuru’s spine. Hajime was shaking terribly, and he looked almost as pale as Izuru was normally. Izuru softly reminded his brother to breathe, whispering low enough so that Monokuma wouldn’t hear him.

“What the actual fuck is that stuffed toy? What is that bullcrap he’s saying?” Fuyuhiko swore. Hajime was honestly thinking the same thing.

“What… what is that thing?” Byakuya asked, looking disturbed.

“It’s dangerous everyone! Step back and let me handle it! I don’t know why Monokuma is here but I will-”

“YAH! An opening!” Monokuma cried as he tackled Usami to the ground, and started to beat her up. There was an almost cartoonish fight that followed, which ended with Usami’s magic stick being broken in half.

“Dadada! Victory!” Monokuma cheered.

“No! My magic stick!” 

“What to do after my flawless victory? Ooh, I know, you need a makeover! White rabbits are just too plain.” Monokuma suddenly jumped on Usami again, but this time, when the fight was over… Usami was different.

One half of her was white and the other half pink, with a red eye. 

“What? What did you do to me? I’m not supposed to look weird like this!” She yelled.

“Aw, but don’t you want to look like your big brother, Monomi?” Monokuma sked. Big brother? Monomi? What was this black and white little shit talking about now? 

“Monomi? Big brother?!” Seemed the rabbit was wondering the same.

“I thought your premise was soooo boring, so, I’ve decided that from now on you’ll be my little sister Monomi! It’s retcon you see?” The brothers were lost by this point, and so was everyone else, only able to stare at the scene before them with complete, and utter confusion.

“What? I don’t want to be your little sister!” Usami screamed.

“What? You want to be the big sister then? Nah, you’re definitely little sister material. And next time you defy me Monomi, I won’t go so easy!” Monokuma yelled at Monomi.

“Wh-huh?! Now the author is writing me as Monomi?! Wait, I won’t let you make all these changes!” Suddenly, Monokuma flew at the rabbit and punched her in the face, sending her flying. 

“Silly sister! Did you really think you could beat me?” 

“Ow! It hurts a lot when you punch me!”

“How about it? Prepared to give up?

“Uwah… if only I had my magic stick, then I’d be able to beat you.” Monomi was crying now, making Izuru feel a bit bad for her.

“OK, what the fuck is happening?” Fuyuhiko asked.

“I have no clue dude… It’s not good though, I know that.” Akane mumbled.

“This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening. I won’t believe I won’t believe!” Teruteru yelled, turning away from the scene.

“What is going on? What is with that black and white tanuki?” Peko questioned, while Izuru wondered how she could mistake a bear for a tanuki.

“I’m not a tanuki! I’m a bear! I’m Monokuma!” Said bear screamed at her. “But now, without further ado, your headmaster has an announcement to make you bastards! The “Field Trip of Mutual Killing” has now begun.” 

………  
…………..  
……………….

It felt like the world had come to a standstill as those words rumbled in the brother’s minds. 

“Becoming friends is a way too boring goal! No one wants to play that kind of game! Isn’t that right you little shits? Thereby, I declare this a “Field Trip of Mutual Killing” You bastards are the participants of course.” Killing? Participants? “Basically, the premise is that you bastards have to kill each other in order to leave this island!”

“What… are you talking about? Are you just ripping off “Battle Royale” or something?” Izuru said, his voice as calm as ever. 

“Huh? I’m not ripping off anything! I might be using the same idea from before, but this is a Monokuma original event!” The bear laughed. “The main difference between that dinosaur is that here, we have a class trial instead of just trying to survive! In case murder occurs between you bastards… The survivors must participate in a school trial. The class trial is a face off between the ‘culprit’ who murdered and the other, ‘innocent’, students. During the class trial, you will try to deduce who the culprit is, and then vote on who to accuse... If you figure it out, and vote correctly... The culprit will be ‘punished’, and the rest of you will continue on the field trip. But, if the culprit successfully tricks you dumbasses into accusing the wrong person... ...Then the culprit gets to leave! And the rest of you will be ‘punished’ instead! These are the rules of the class trial!” Monokuma explained.

“Y-you keep using that word, ‘punished’ what exactly do you mean?” Kazuichi asked.

“I mean… **execution**.” 

“Execution?!” Hajime yelled, surprised. Izuru gripped Hajime’s hand tighter, getting more and more afraid by the second.

“The thrilling Punishment time that happens after every trial. Upupupupu~ I can’t wait to see what spine tingling punishments will happen! We’ll probably have some fun ones too, like roasting the culprit’s head on a spit!” Monokuma was practically shaking with excitement, making Hajime sick to his stomach.

“Why exactly are you doing this? I mean, if you just wanted the thrill of killing someone, why don’t you just kill us now? Do you just want to watch us turn on each other?” Izuru asked.

“Pretty much goldie locks!” 

“Boring… that’s one of the most boring motives I’ve ever heard.” Monokuma decided to ignore Izuru’s comment, and went back to talking.

“I’m not fussy about the method you use either! Beating, stabbing, shooting, strangling, poisoning, cursing, crushing, roasting… etc.” Monokuma rambled on about the different methods, making Hajime clutch his chest as a pain seared through it. His breathing was heavy, and with every breath the pain shot through him. 

“We’re not going to kill anyone! None of us would do something like that!” Hajime finally yelled out. Izuru did nothing. Knowing that despite what Hajime said, there was always the possibility.

“He’s right! No one here is going to kill anyone!” Kazuichi yelled.

“I’m not _ordering_ you to kill anyone. What you shits do is up to you. But be careful, it’d suck if you’re in your forties and you decide to finally kill.” 

“So… if no one kills, we’ll never get off the island?” Mahiru asked.

“I dunno.” Monokuma shrugged. 

“W...Wait a second! Why do we have to kill each other, anyway?!” Mahiru yelled again.

“ Isn't it obvious? It's because you bastards have a reason to.” Monokuma explained. A reason? What was that reason. Izuru was about to ask but-

“Hey! I don’t like resorting to violence, but you’ve gone too far buddy!” Nekomaru threatened.

“Oh? Oh! Do I get to beat up this black and white chump?” Akane asked enthusiastically.

“I do not wish for things to be violent, but if anyone thinks of murder I will take them down.” Peko said reaching for her bamboo sword.

“That’s right! If you try anything the jocks in our group will beat you up!” Ibuki yelled.

“Aw… I was hoping it didn’t have to come to this, but it looks like I do. If you guys use violence against me, I’ll repay the favor!” Monokuma said, unsheathing a set of very pointy claws.

“Repay the favor? What are you talking about?” Monomi asked nervously.

“O scions of the void between light and shadow, hear me! Fulfill thy ancient contract… Come forth Monobeasts!” 

Suddenly, there was a rumble, and Izuru looked up to the source and saw the large statue starting to shake. Then the bronze coating started to fall away, revealing different metal underneath. And before he knew it, five, large robots stood in front of them threateningly. 

He couldn’t keep it up, his facade fell a bit as his eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped a little. He quickly got control of himself however, and forced his face to go back to being indifferent. 

He could hear everyone freaking out, and he turned to Hajime, who was staring with a look of sheer shock. Neither of them could really hear what the others were saying, too shocked to listen, until they heard Monomi’s voice.

“Everyone, s-stay back, I-I-I’ll protect you!” She yelled. Izuru opened his mouth to stop her, knowing that she was going to get destroyed if she tried, but it was too late. 

Before he knew it, one of the Monobeasts flew up in the air, with Monokuma on it’s back. Monokuma waved his arm, and a gatling gun grew from the robot’s foot… and fired. 

The sound of rapid gunfire filled the air, as well as the sound of fabric ripping. Hajime could only stare as the stuffed rabbit was destroyed.

Suddenly, a piece of shrapnel from a tree that was getting hit by the bullets flew in between the twin’s faces, leaving identical marks on their cheeks, just on opposite sides. 

Hajime’s breath caught in his throat as he reached up with his free hand to touch his cheek. Feeling shocked when it came back bloody. Izuru was gritting his teeth in an attempt not to intervene. 

Finally, it was over, leaving only Monomi’s bullet hole covered bow in it’s wake.

“A… AAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING OOOOOOOON?!”

“AAAA IT’S ONLY THE FIRST STAGE AND MONOMI’S ALREADY DEAD!”

“I...Is this the work of the devil...?! Or perhaps... a futuristic weapon...?!”

No one had tried to run away. Not out of bravery, quite the opposite, it was because they were afraid. They were out of their element. Even if they wanted to fight, the only thing it would create was more bodies. 

“Upupu... Yeah, that's more like it. Such a fulfilling sense of despair! I guess that's the power of making someone an example!” Monokuma’s high pitched laugh echoed throughout the park. Everyone was frozen, like they had forgotten how to breathe. 

“It seems like you bastards finally understand. You can’t beat me. If you don’t want to end up as fish food, I suggest you do as I say. I’ll warn you, I don’t feel compassion or empathy, since I’m a bear, I will not accept any excuses like “I got high off this tropical atmosphere.” Furthermore, to celebrate the beginning of this “Field Trip of Mutual Killing” I’ve added some new rules. Be sure to read them carefully, ignorance of the rules ain’t an excuse either. Now then, die-onara bitches!” Monokuma left with a final laugh. 

“What the fuck just happened?” Izuru asked with a straight face.

“Uh… um… I won’t believe this. Nope, noooooone of that happened.” Teruteru denied.

“I...I can handle people and animals as opponents, but... What am I supposed to do with such ridiculously huge monsters!!” Nekomaru yelled, looking absolutely terrified. 

“I...Impossible... W...Why are such impossible things happening...?” Kazuichi asked, genuinely freaking out.

“ No, they're not... impossible. Those Monobeasts are nothing more than moving machines. That stuffed toy probably is one too. And if that's all they are, it means someone made and is controlling them.” Byakuya said, getting back his composure. Someone was controlling those things. Right. It made sense. Izuru was getting back his own composure, and it seemed like Hajime was too.

“You’re bleeding.” Hajime said, looking at Izuru. Letting go of his brother’s hand hesitantly, Izuru reached up and felt his cheek. Blood had begun to run down his cheek onto his chin. He wiped it with the sleeve of his suit jacket, not caring about getting it bloody. 

“You are too…” He mumbled. He heard Mikan squeal in surprise and run over to them, pulling out some bandages.

“H-here, it-it doesn’t look like any splinters got into the wound but come s-s-see me tomorrow so I can check to see if it’s i-i-infected!” She stuttered as she placed the bandages on their cheeks

“Ibuki thinks it’s pretty impressive that you’ve got the same cuts on opposite sides of your face! Is that ‘cause you’re twins?” Ibuki seemed… far too chipper after what happened. ‘Perhaps a defense mechanism.’ Izuru thought to himself.

“It’s because we were standing so close.” Hajime muttered. 

“That’s not important right now you simpletons!” Byakuya yelled.

“That’s right! We need to find out who did this to us!” Mahiru screamed.

“That’s not important right now either. I don’t know if there really is someone out there that’s doing this to us, but the thing we should be most guarded against isn’t those ridiculous machines or whoever is operating them... No, more than that, we should be guarded against… Ourselves.” Byakuya said ominously. 

He was right. They were stranded on an island with complete strangers, and been told to kill each other. 

“The atmosphere of fear and despair that has been created, and our wish to escape it… That is the enemy we should be most concerned about right now.” The heir said matter of factly. Hajime swallowed thickly as he looked around at everyone else. 

The seed of doubt had already been planted in his mind, and it made him afraid. Not just afraid of the others, but himself as well. Part of him wanted to get off this island as soon as possible, but for that to happen… No. He wouldn’t do something like that. He wouldn’t… right?

Izuru looked over at his brother, and could almost see the gears working in the older twin’s head. Izuru grabbed his brother’s hand and walked away. The others, seeing this as the conversation being over, left as well.

Prologue: End.  
17 Alive

 

**Rule 5: In the event of a murder, a class trial will occur. Participation is mandatory.**  
**Rule 6: During the class trial, students will attempt to identify the culprit. If the culprit is successfully identified, they alone shall be executed for their crime.**  
**Rule 7: Failure to identify the culprit will be considered a violation of the school rules. In this event, all students except the culprit shall be executed.**  
**Rule 8: A culprit who successfully hides their guilt shall be granted immunity, and shall be permitted to leave the island.**  
**Rule 9: After three people or more _first_ discover a dead body, a "body discovery announcement" shall be broadcast across the island.**  
**Rule 10: Damaging any facilities on the island, this includes monitors and surveillance cameras**  
**Rule 11: You are free to investigate the island. No special restrictions will be placed.**  
**WARNING**  
**More rules will be added if necessary.**


	6. Rabbits and Hamsters and Bears Oh my!

Hajime sighed heavily and looked at the sky. It had gone dark by the time that everyone had split up, and he and Izuru had been sitting by the pool, not saying anything for that entire time. Izuru mostly looked at all the plants around the area and when it had gotten dark he stared up at the stars intently. 

 

“Is… this really happening?” Hajime asked, mostly to himself.

 

“Seems so… I doubt this is some kind of nightmare, it’s impossible that we’re both having the same dream.” Izuru commented dryly. Hajime looked at his brother, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the sky. If Hajime didn’t know any better, he’d say that Izuru didn’t care about this situation, that he wasn’t phased by it at all. 

 

But Hajime could see how tense his brother’s body was, how his eyebrows were slightly creased, and the way his hands shook slightly. Izuru was scared. Just like he was. 

 

*Ding dong bing bong* A bell sounded and Monokuma’s high pitched, rather annoying voice came over the monitor.

 

“Hello, hello! This is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee...It is now 10PM! Night brings out the worst in people... If you walk outside, you may inadvertently come across a killer! If that happens… sucks to be you! However, I’ve prepared special cottages for everyone! You can sleep there in safety and comfort! I hope you like them! I strongly recommend you lock your doors up tight before going to bed. You never know who’s prowling about, scheming murder! Upupu... Bye-o-nara bitches!” With that, the bear disappeared from the monitor. 

 

Hajime was about to say something, but before he could, a certain black and white bear appeared in front of them.

 

“Except you two!” The bear yelled. Hajime let out a shriek of surprise and nearly fell backwards off the chair, but Izuru caught him by the sleeve.

 

“What do you mean except us?” Izuru asked.

 

“Well, you see, there are only 16 cottages, but 17 students! I’m guessing my dumb little sister didn’t think you two needed separate cottages, so you’ll have to share! I’m a busy bear so I Don’t have the time to build another one. Besides, it’d bug me to no end if we had an odd number. So deal with it you fuckbags!” With that, Monokuma left again, leaving the twins behind to groan.

 

“Well… nothing we aren’t used to.” Hajime muttered, standing up and walking with Izuru to the cottage that had their picture on it.

 

Stepping inside, there was only one bed, a TV, a small couch and some kind of shelf in the corner. Off to the side there was a bathroom, and of course, a monitor and a surveillance camera. 

 

Hajime let out a yell and fell face first onto the bed, letting out a scream of anguish. He did this a few more times while Izuru examined the room curiously. When Hajime’s yells seemed to die down, Izuru walked over to his brother, and slowly patted his head.

 

Hajime lifted his head and stared at Izuru with teary eyes.

 

“What the fuck is going on?! I… we were just going to the Academy, and everything was going fine and now _this_ happens?! Why!? Why us? We didn’t do anything wrong!” Hajime was rambling, and shaking. Izuru pulled his brother into a hug, and stroked his back comfortingly.

 

“I want to go home…” Hajime whispered. “I’m horrible… I want to go home so bad but-but the only way is-is to kill someone… I don’t… I don’t…” Izuru pulled back from the hug and looked Hajime in the eyes.

 

“Hajime. Listen to me. I know you. We’ve been together since we were infants. You’re not the type of person to kill someone, even if it’s a life threatening situation. You do _not_ need to worry about that. Understand? I can’t say the same for myself however. If there was ever a situation that you or I were in danger, I would kill someone just to make sure we’d be OK. But, I wouldn’t let it come to that. I swear.” 

 

Hajime was shocked. Izuru rarely spoke in so many words. Hajime knew his brother was serious now. Hajime could even see his brother’s eyes become shiny from tears. The smaller male gripped his brother tightly in a hug, and he could feel Izuru start to cry as well.

 

“I… I’ll do my best to protect you too. I know I’m not as strong or-or smart, but I won’t let anything bad happen to you, I swear. You might be a big jerk sometimes, but you’re still my brother.” Hajime said, laughing a little at the last sentence. They had their moments when they would get into arguments, but at the end of the day, they were brothers, twins. 

 

Hajime was the only person that Izuru truly trusted, and could rely on. He had no idea what he’d do if Hajime were to die. He almost shivered at the thought of Hajime dying. It terrified him. He wouldn’t let that happen, even if he had to die trying.

 

Hajime knew he’d do the same. Izuru was his best friend, the closest person he had. Even if he sometimes got jealous, and he sometimes felt like he wasn’t as good as his brother, he had no hard feelings towards Izuru, because he knew that Izuru saw Hajime as an equal.

 

Whereas Hajime lacked in academic and physical strength, he had social skills, and the ability to show his emotions easily, in that regard, Hajime was far better than his brother. Their parents often joked about how the two of them had somehow split of those attributes between them, to balance things out. 

 

Thinking about that however, made Hajime wonder what their talent even was. He wondered if it had something to do with their personalities, or if it was something else.

 

“We should… get some sleep, or at least try to.” Izuru mumbled. “Want me to take the couch? Or do you want to share a bed like we did when we were little?” Hajime snorted at that, remembering all the times Izuru had crawled into his bed after a nightmare, or when Hajime would get lonely at night and move into Izuru’s bed. Their parents had eventually just bought a larger bed so they wouldn’t have to move. 

 

“Sharing would be fine… I have a feeling this entire thing is going to give me nightmares…” Hajime whispered. Izuru gave a sincere smile and ruffled his brother’s hair.

 

“Alright.” The brother’s didn’t even bother changing aside from taking off their ties so they wouldn’t strangle themselves in their sleep, before flopping onto the bed, completely exhausted. Their backs facing each other, both of them fell asleep almost immediately, completely exhausted from the day’s events.

 

During that night, Hajime had an extremely strange dream involving Monokuma, where he mentioned something about buying a game or something. It was weird.

 

Hajime was the first one to wake up. Izuru had rolled over in his sleep so that half his body was laying on Hajime’s arm, and he could already feel that his arm had gone numb. He groaned and managed to pry his arm out from under his sleeping brother. His arm became full of pins and needles as blood rushed back into it. 

 

Hajime sighed and walked over to the shower, getting himself ready hesitantly. He really didn’t want to go out and do anything, but he couldn’t just hide in this room forever. When he got out of the shower he discovered that all their clothes had been put into the drawers of the room. He didn’t want to think about how they got there, he just dressed and sat on the couch.

 

After a few minutes he heard a bell, and Monokuma’s voice rang throughout the room. 

 

“Ahem! Good morning everyone! The time is now 7 AM and it’s another beautiful tropical day! Let’s all make the most of it!” With that, the bear disappeared from the screen. 

 

“I swear to god I’m going to rip that damn bear in half.” Izuru mumbled into the pillow, making Hajime snicker. 

 

“Good morning to you too.”

 

“Kiss my ass.” Izuru sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. He glared at his brother and headed to the bathroom, and got ready as well, but was still extremely grumpy when he exited. His hair was also a giant mess of tangles. 

 

“Jeez, I think your hair is even worse than it is usually.” Hajime mumbled.

 

“Whatever.” Izuru walked towards the door, but was stopped by Monokuma

 

“No, no! You can’t leave!” The bear yelled, but Izuru didn’t flinch.

 

“What do you want?” He asked.

 

“I need you to find my plushies. I made too many but I couldn’t just throw them away, so I’ve hidden them all over the island! And I want you guys to find them all!” The bear explained.

 

“Why? What do we get out of it?” Hajime asked.

 

“You have to because I said so! You can’t say no! I’ve hidden one in here, and I’m not going to let you out until you find it.” The bear disappeared again, and Izuru managed to catch him disappearing under the floorboards through a trap door.

 

Looking around the room, Hajime spotted the stuffed animal up on the wall, perched on a small ledge. He managed to jump up and grab it, then set it down on the shelf. The smaller replica of Monokuma was wearing a seashell bikini, making both of them shudder in disgust. Attached to the plush was about 10 coins. 

 

“Yay! You did it! I also left some monocoins for you guys. Use them at the MonoMono machine or the vending machine in the supermarket! Laters!” The bear vanished just as quickly as he appeared.

 

“Let’s… just go. It’s better if we don’t ask questions.” Izuru said with a sigh. However, as soon as the two stepped outside, they ran into Kazuichi.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAH!” The pink haired man yelled.

 

“Whoa!” Hajime yelled back.

 

“O-oh… it’s just you guys. Don’t surprise me like that!” Izuru had to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

 

“Th-that’s my line...” Hajime mumbled.

 

“B-but, have you seen it? Oh man, this isn’t good… those things… The gates, y’know, big ones, gates, central island, five of them?” Kazuichi wasn’t making any semblance of sense.

 

“Kazuichi, calm down and tell us. What’s going on with the bridges.” Izuru said evenly.

 

“Those big things, the monsters, they’re guarding the gates!” Kazuichi finally managed to yell. Suddenly, Monokuma appeared again.

 

“They’re not monsters! They’re Monobeasts!”

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH HE’S HERE!” Kazuichi screamed, making Izuru slightly flinch at how loud he was being.

 

“The Monobeasts are Jabberwock Island's guardians. They're there to help me keep you bastards in check and prevent you from crossing over to the other islands.” Monokuma explained, then disappeared. Izuru was starting to grow annoyed at Monokuma’s constant appearing and disappearing.

 

“So… they’re gatekeepers. I guess it’s a good idea not to go near them.” Hajime wondered aloud. 

 

“You’re so noisy.” Izuru turned his head to see Peko standing there, looking as intimidating as ever.

 

“AAAAA ANOTHER MONSTER!” Kazuichi shrieked. Izuru pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

 

“I came here to get you, but if you’re going to call me a monster, I’ll leave.” Peko said, sounding annoyed.

 

“Just… ignore him, he’s freaking out about everything. And you came to get us?” Hajime asked curiously.

 

“Byakuya wanted us all to gather at the hotel restaurant, and since you guys weren’t showing up I was told to go get you.” The swordswoman explained. Izuru hummed. He supposed it was a good idea to keep track of everyone. After giving her explanation, Peko left.

 

“Wonder what the meeting’s about…” Hajime wondered.

 

“I don’t care man. I’m… I’m running away!” Kazuichi yelled as he ran off. Hajime made a move to stop him but gave up almost immediately.

 

“Ugh… we should just go to the restaurant I guess.” Hajime mumbled, sounding annoyed. Izuru nodded and followed his brother to the hotel’s restaurant, where there was piles of food laid out.

 

“You’re late. Where’s Kazuichi?” Byakuya asked as soon as the brothers walked in.

 

“He… ran away.” Hajime explained.

 

“He’s an idiot. There’s nowhere _to_ run.” Izuru mumbled, grabbing a cup and pouring some coffee in it. He partially tuned out what everyone was saying as he drank, not yet in the mood for what everyone had to say. 

 

“We won’t start talking until Kazuichi is here.” Byakuya said, which Izuru managed to pick up on.

 

“What are we even here to talk about?” Hajime asked.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? To figure out how to beat the shit out of those machines!” Akane yelled, punching her palm with her fist.

 

“Yeah… good luck with that.” Izuru mumbled softly. Akane looked at him and smiled.

 

“Thanks dude!” She said, making Izuru groan internally.

 

“We can’t fight those things! They-they’re heavily armed!” Mikan whimpered.

 

“BULLETS CAN’T PIERCE SPIRIT!” Nekomaru screamed. Izuru merely ignored them and prepared himself a plate of food. And after a second he piled some food onto a plate for Hajime as well.

 

“Can we just get started already? This is going to be some worthless pep talk anyway.” Hiyoko said mockingly. 

 

“No, we cannot continue without everyone here.” Byakuya reminded. Mahiru let out a groan and stood up.

 

“Fine! I’ll go get him myself. I’ll bring him back even if I have to tie him up!” She said as she stomped angrily down the stairs.

 

“Ooh, getting tied up by Miss Mahiru, maybe I should run away too… Just kidding!” Teruteru yelled happily.

 

“Disgusting bastard…” Fuyuhiko mumbled.

 

“While we wait, I suggest we all have breakfast. Let’s eat!” Byakuya said as he sat down and began to shovel food into his mouth. Izuru sighed and made Hajime sit next to him. Hajime looked at the food nervously.

 

“Wait, where did this food come from?” He asked.

 

“It was here when I came in this morning.” Nagito said with a smile. “I guess Teruteru made it.” 

 

“No way! My food doesn’t taste as shitty as this!” The cook yelled. 

 

“Shitty? Tastes good to me.” Akane said with a full mouth.

 

“J-just good right? The food I make has been called "The Tastiest Food in the World". Compared to that, this "good” food is utterly worthless. The comparison itself is nonsense!! Comparing me to such low-level fodder? I'm quite offended!” Teruteru screamed, with an utterly terrifying look on his face. “When you eat my food, your jaw won’t be the only thing that drops!”

 

“What… do you mean?” Peko asked.

 

“Your panties will fall off too! Just like the black thong Miss Peko is wearing!” Izuru nearly choked on his drink as Teruteru said that. He stared at the scene, waiting for Peko to smack him on the head with her bamboo sword.

 

“Y-you, how did you know?” The girl asked, making Hajime’s jaw drop in shock.

 

“But if Teruteru did not cook this then who did?” Sonia questioned.

 

“Maybe it was Monokuma?” Ibuki suggested.

 

“Is… it really safe to eat things made by him?” Hajime asked.

 

“That’s why I’m tasting it for poison. Your brother has already eaten some as well so it seems safe.” Byakuya said. ‘You don’t need to eat so much to taste it for poison…’ Hajime thought. He looked at Izuru who was eating as well, though it wasn’t nearly as much as Byakuya was eating.

 

Now that he thought about it, he remembered that the last meal he and Izuru had was breakfast right before going to the school, and as soon as he realized that, his stomach started to throb with hunger pains. Giving into his stomach’s demands Hajime ate as well. It didn’t taste bad at least, and he didn’t die when he ate it so he assumed it was safe. 

 

“OK, I brought him.” Mahiru said as she entered the restaurant, dragging Kazuichi behind her by his sleeve. The pink haired man gave a few cries of protest until she let him go. 

 

“Now then-” Byakuya started, but as soon as he did, there was a loud crash and a scream. Izuru turned his head to the source and saw… 

 

“AAAH! I-I-I-I tripped!” Mikan squealed as she lay on the floor, her legs in the air, and her legs tangled up in an electrical cord.

 

“C-can you even call that tripping?” Hajime asked, trying not to stare.

 

“H-how can you trip and end up like _that_?” Byakuya asked. Izuru had to agree. Izuru had a feeling she hadn’t really tripped… and had ended up like that on purpose somehow. It took him a moment to regain his composure, and he quickly walked over to the girl and got her untangled from the cord. 

 

“Are you alright?” He asked her. She was gripping her head and sniffling.

 

“I-I’m fine… my head hurts a little but I-I-I’m OK.” She mumbled. Izuru sighed.

 

“Aw… Izuru you party pooper, I was enjoying it!” Teruteru complained. Izuru gave the smaller man a glare, which shut him up immediately.

 

“First off, I have a question for you all, what do you think we need in a situation like this? Monokuma has ordered us to kill each other, so what do you think we need?” Byakuya asked. Everyone was silent.

 

“I suppose… we need a bond? I mean, if we’re all suspicious of each other, and we don’t work together, we’ll never get anywhere right?” Nagito suggested. Hajime thought that was a good idea. Working as a team would help them a lot.

 

“Hmm, interesting, but I was thinking of something less trivial than a bond.” Byakuya said, looking smug.

 

“Then… what is it?” Nagito asked, looking a little confused.

 

“What we need, is a leader! And as the most competent person here, I nominate myself.” Byakuya suddenly got a serious expression on his face. “I swear, on the Togami family name, that I will not allow a single one of you to die.” Izuru was surprised that Byakuya was acting so responsible, and considerate for others. It blew his expectations out of the water. 

 

Mahiru complained that Byakuya was being too forceful, and that no one had agreed for him to be the leader, but after a bit of convincing she agreed.

 

“Excellent, now, there is one other thing we need to address, follow me.” Byakuya didn’t waste any time, and walked down the stairs, not bothering to see if anyone had followed. 

 

Sighing heavily, the twins followed Byakuya to the park, where they saw a big… _thing_ standing where the statutes had been.

 

“What… _is_ that?” Hajime shouted in shock. Everyone quickly arrived and saw the thing as well. It was a giant sphere, with two ears like Monokuma’s on top. And it was counting down.

 

“A bomb?” Izuru asked.

 

“A-a-a-a-a bomb?!” Kazuichi shrieked.

 

“No, if they wanted to blow the island up, they’d do it already. I found it this morning while I was searching the island again, this wasn’t here last night, so who did it?” Byakuya asked.

 

“Strange… very strange…” A familiar, high pitched voice chimed in. Everyone turned to the source to see Monomi standing there.

 

“M-Monomi?!”

 

“AAAAH!” The rabbit screamed in shock.

 

“Y-you’re here? Why?” Mahiru asked.

 

“Well, I was patrolling and I heard you guys talking.” The rabbit explained.

 

“N-no, not that. Didn’t Monokuma kill you?” Ibuki asked, looking anxious.

 

“She’s a stuffed animal robot thing right? So she probably has multiple copies if one of them gets destroyed.” Izuru explained.

 

“Exactly! Even if Monokuma wanted to, he couldn’t kill me!” Monomi said happily.

 

“You’re timing is perfect however. Tell us, what is that timer for?” Byakuya demanded. Monomi looked confused before she turned her eyes to the giant ball.

 

“What is that?! I-I-I’ve never seen that before… I have no idea what Monokuma is doing… without my Magic stick I’m just as blind as you all.” She said while looking afraid. 

 

“So not even Monomi, the person who brought us here knows what this is.” Izuru turned to Monomi. “And I doubt you can get us out of here early either, since you seem to be powerless now.”

 

“Uuhuu… there is a way, but I can’t access it. But maybe if you collect all the Hope Shards, you might be able to…” Monomi said with a small sob in her voice. “So… try, please, collect all the Hope Shards, grow your bonds and make a biiig Hope Flower bloom!” Monomi cheered up a little as she said this. “Let’s all work together to drive that meanie Monokuma off the island!” 

 

“If you truly know nothing then you’re useless to us. Get out.” Byakuya said coldly.

 

“B-but…” Monomi whimpered.

 

“I said get lost.” As Byakuya said that Monomi sobbed and left. 

 

“That was a bit… mean.” Sonia said. 

 

“Miss Sonia! Can I call you Miss Sonia? I’mma call you Miss Sonia. You shouldn’t feel bad for her! She’s probably working with Monokuma!” Kazuichi yelled.

 

“Who cares about those stuffed toys? This clock is more important!” Fuyuhiko yelled.

 

The group began talking about who could be behind this. It had to be a large group, like Sonia’s Novoselic kingdom, the Kuzuryuu clan, or the Togami corporation. Izuru couldn’t deny that whoever was doing this had a large amount of resources, and had the ability to either hide the fact that they were here, or that they kept away anyone trying to rescue them.

 

“Not only that, how has Jabberwock Island, a popular tourist destination, suddenly become uninhabited?” That was what caught Izuru’s attention. It had been bothering him as well. 

 

“Perhaps whoever did this drove everyone out, or killed everyone who was living here?” Izuru suggested.

 

“K-Killed everyone? That’s… that’s horrible!” Mikan yelled. 

 

“At the end of the day, we don’t know exactly what happened, that mystery will remain a mystery for now. We don’t know who did this or why, but we when we do find out who, we’ll find out why. So for now, let us search the island for clues!” Byakuya declared.

 

“Alright! Let’s go… what are we looking for?” Izuru wanted to slap himself at how dim Akane was being, but he held himself back.

 

“Clues. Any kind of clue.” Mahiru reminded.

 

“Hmph! It doesn’t matter, no organization can stop _me._ As long as I have my Four Dark Devas of Destruction, I am unstoppable!” As Gundam said this, the hamsters crawled out of his scarf.

 

“Oh! Hamsters! They’re so adorable!” Sonia exclaimed happily.

 

“A-adorable!” Gundam seemed angry for a moment, before hiding his suddenly red face in his scarf. “Th-thank you…” He mumbled. Once again, one of the hamsters, San-D this time, jumped off of Gundam’s shoulder and landed on Izuru, making him tense a little. However, he had been expecting something like this and was able to gain his composure.

 

He scooped the small animal up in his hand, and looked at it. It stared back. Izuru sighed and pet it’s head gently. The hamster relaxed more and more as he did this, until it was laying on his hand, having gone completely flat.

 

“Aaah!! Izuru killed the hamster!” Ibuki screamed. 

 

“I didn’t kill it…” Izuru mumbled.

 

“He is correct. That is just a natural response. It means that San-D is completely relaxed. It is impressive dark one.” Gundam walked over and took San-D back, slipping it back inside his scarf.

 

“Aww! That’s so cute Izzy! Hamsters like you!” 

 

“Will you all be quiet? For now, let us all go our separate ways and investigate.” Byakuya said with an air of finality. Everyone seemed to agree and walked off in different directions, leaving Hajime and Izuru behind.

 

“Do you want to split up and look around on our own or…?” Hajime finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

 

“No. I don’t trust this place. I’d prefer if we stick together.” Izuru mumbled. Hajime seemed to agree.

 

“Let’s look with someone else first though? I mean, it’d be good to get to know everyone… Gather Hope Shards too.”

 

“I guess. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to remind everyone that this is _not_ an incest fic. Izuru and Hajime are extremely close, close enough to share a bed without feeling awkward, they do not have any feelings for each other beyond brotherly.  
>  I do not have any siblings of my own, so I do not know 100% how sibling relations work so... _bear_ with me.
> 
> Also, sorry for the late update, had a busy day.
> 
> Also, also, please leave a comment if you can! Feedback is always appreciated.


	7. Embarrassingly Short Chapter

The twins wandered around the island for a bit, stumbling upon a few more Monokuma dolls on their way, until they ended up on the beach, in front of a machine that wasn’t there before. It was a small machine shaped like Monokuma’s head, along with a bunch of capsules up in the tree. Izuru looked closely at the Monokuma head and saw a coin slot in it.

“Do we put those Monocoins in there?” Hajime asked. Izuru shrugged and put in a coin. The mouth moved like it was eating it and a capsule fell from the tree, knocking Izuru in the head. Hajime covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing at his brother. Izuru glared and opened the capsule, pulling out a… straight jacket. 

“What the fuck…” Izuru whispered. Hajime merely smiled and grabbed some of their coins, putting one in, receiving a prize, then repeating the process. Izuru sighed, his brother got a little too excited about some things. When Hajime had used up all the coins they had several items that seemed completely useless.

“So… what do we do with these?” Hajime asked.

“Maybe we give them to people as gifts? Perhaps it will help further the bonds.” Izuru suggested. Hajime seemed to agree.

“Yeah! That makes sense. I guess we need to strengthen those bonds… why not now? I mean, we have some free time so why not now?” Hajime asked, tilting his head.

“I suppose… let’s see Nagito first.”

“Huh? Why Nagito?” 

“He’s the one we’ve spent the most time with so far, considering the time when he was showing us around. It’d make sense to start with him.” Izuru explained. Hajime hummed in agreement and the two of them went off in search of the fluffy haired teen. They found him searching around in the Rocket Punch market. 

“Oh! Hey guys, what’s up?” Nagito asked cheerfully.

“We were wondering if you wanted to search with us. I mean, two heads are better than one, and three is even better. Maybe we’ll have more luck?” Hajime suggested. Izuru nodded.

“Really? Thanks! I wasn’t expecting you guys to want to be around someone like me but... Let’s do it!” Nagito agreed happily. The three wandered around the island, looking for any clues. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything. 

Izuru rummaged around in his pocket for one of the presents they’d gotten, and pulled out a small gem. According to the e-Handbook it was made from the Hope Diamond. Izuru handed it to Nagito who looked at the gem and smiled widely, thanking the brothers profusely.

“Hey… are you guys doing OK? I mean, with everything that’s going on…” Izuru felt happy that Nagito was concerned, and Hajime was glad too, and was a bit flattered.

“We’re fine… just a little confused. I mean… this whole thing is confusing and weird.” Hajime explained.

“I’m more concerned about why we can’t remember our talent.” Izuru said.

“Hmm… it is weird you haven’t remembered yet… maybe I can help!” Nagito exclaimed happily. “Hmm… what about… Super High School Level Twins?” Hajime snorted. “No? Hm… Super High School Level Serenity?” Izuru raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of talent is that?” Hajime asked.

“Well, you guys have this… aura about you that makes me feel very calm, so I thought… hmm… maybe… Hajime is the Super High School Level Spiky hair and Izuru is the Super High School Level Longest hair?” Izuru rolled his eyes.

“Now you’re just making things up.” Izuru said. Nagito laughed.

“Maybe I am.” The twins felt like they’d grown a bit closer to Nagito, and after talking for a bit longer, they went back to their cabin. 

“There’s still time in the day, want to go talk to someone else?” Hajime asked. Izuru made a face but nodded. He did _not_ want to talk to others but he knew he had to. So, the two of them wandered around for awhile, until they came across Nekomaru on the beach.

“Nekomaru! Want to look around with us?” Hajime asked. 

“Of course! And maybe after we can train you two up a bit!” The large man laughed. The three walked around for a bit until Nekomaru suddenly threw a rock at Izuru, which the shorter man easily dodged. 

“Excellent reflexes! Now, enough searching! Let’s spar!” The coach rushed at Izuru, and threw a flurry of punches, Izuru easily dodged each one, and eventually threw a punch of his own, hitting Nekomaru in the shoulder, making the taller man grunt in pain. The two sparred for a bit, until Nekomaru called for a stop.

“I- *huff* must say, that was impressive! Now! You! Let’s see what you got!” Nekomaru yelled, grabbing Hajime by the arm and pulling him up from where he was sitting in the sand. Doing the same as he did with Izuru, albeit a bit slower after Hajime proved to be too slow to dodge most of Nekomaru’s punches, until the smaller male was worn out.

After catching his breath, Hajime sat up and looked at Nekomaru.

“Hey, Nekomaru, I’ve been wondering something…” Hajime said slowly.

“Oh? And what’s that?” The coach asked.

“Well… why are you _just_ a coach?” Hajime asked. Izuru nodded his head. After all, Nekomaru was incredibly strong.

“JUST?!” Nekomaru yelled. “Are you mocking my profession?” 

“No. We’re just… wondering, because of your strength and build, you seem more like an athlete.” Izuru explained.

“Boys, I’ve met countless athletes. A baseball player who was asked to be on a team in middle school, a figure skater who could do six and a half spins, a tennis player who played a 36 hour match, and many more. All of them surpassed me.” Nekomaru said thoughtfully. “A bond between a coach and their pupil is one that cannot be broken. Many great athletes wouldn’t have gotten to where they were without a coach helping them. If you yearn to master something, you will need a teacher or a coach’s help.” Nekomaru seemed to be lost in thought as he explained this.

Hajime was surprised, but he knew how proud Nekomaru was to be a coach, and how kind he was. Izuru felt the same. He was impressed at how dedicated Nekomaru was to his job, and how much he seemed to care for the people he worked with.

“Hmm… I can tell you both just praised me in your hearts!” Nekomaru shouted, making Izuru jump a bit.

“How did…?” 

“When we face each other like this, we are one in body and mind! I CAN EASILY SEE WHAT YOU’RE THINKING!” Nekomaru said enthusiastically. Izuru highly doubted that, but still, he felt a kind of fondness towards Nekomaru. The twins went back to their cabin, but before they could relax-

*Ding dong dong ding*

“Hello, hello! This is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee… I have a very special surprise for everyone! Please, hurry to Jabberwock Park ASAP!” With that, the bear vanished from the screen, leaving the brothers very confused and also annoyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Oh my god this chapter was embarrassingly short. But, I was sick and didn’t have the energy to write much more than this. Sorry (┳Д┳) )


	8. Traitor(s)?

The brothers arrived at the park where there was a large stage in the middle of the park, everyone was there as well. 

“Jeez… what is it this time? This is annoying.” Kazuichi complained, making Izuru roll his eyes.

“If you’re so annoyed why didn’t you just not come?” Fuyuhiko said, looking annoyed himself.

“Well… who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t…” Kazuichi replied.

“Hm, that _is_ a good question. You should’ve tested it out for us.” The small teen said with a smirk on his face.

“You probably only came because you’re scared yourself.” Mahiru said angrily.

“What did you just say?”

“I'm saying even a high-and-mighty gangster like you can't handle those monsters. Isn't that right?” The redhead accused. 

“You bitch!” Fuyuhiko looked furious.

“G-guys, stop.” Nagito said nervously. “We’re all friends here so-”

“Eh? Friends? When did you get that idea?” Fuyuhiko replied. Hajime seemed a bit taken back at this.

“Alright, since there seems to be some confusion, I’ll make this clear. I will not hesitate to kill you.” Fuyuhiko threatened.

“Excuse me?” Mahiru asked incredulously.

“I said. I. Will. Not. Hesitate. To. Kill. You.” The yakuza repeated.

“Fuyuhiko, just… try to calm down a little.” Hajime said, trying to ease the tension.

“Don’t say my name so casually! You have no idea of the world I come from, do you? Where I'm from, it's kill or be killed... Those have always been the rules I’ve had to live with. Hell, those new rules Monokuma set up are much easier for me than Monomi’s “Let’s be friends” crap!” Izuru narrowed his eyes at Fuyuhiko, getting a bit angry. 

“Oh be quiet!” Mahiru yelled at him.

“Don’t treat me like a kid you bitch!” Fuyuhiko yelled back.

“Stop it. This petty name calling is getting us nowhere.” Peko said calmly.

“Shut up! Why should I join this farce where we all pretend to be friends?! Hey, if anyone wants to test me, just step forward. I'll kill you here and now…” At that, Izuru stepped forward, only a few steps from Fuyuhiko.

“Go ahead. I’d like to see you try.” Izuru looked down at Fuyuhiko, arms crossed.

“You little shit! Don’t think I forgot about what you did earlier!”

“What? When you tried to punch me and you fell in the pool?”

“BASTARD!” Fuyuhiko let out a scream and attempted to punch Izuru again. Instead of stepping out the way, Izuru caught the smaller male’s wrist in his hand, gripping it tightly.

“This attitude of yours is getting old. You are _not_ better than all of us here. You might think you are because of your family, but you are not. Here, you are our equal. You are just as powerless as the rest of us, and you need to stop acting all high and mighty, it’s going to get you into trouble. If you _ever_ threaten someone like that again, I will not hesitate to kill _you_.” Izuru said while squeezing Fuyuhiko’s wrist tighter, making the shorter boy let out a yell of pain.

“Izuru stop!” Hajime rushed forward and grabbed his brother, making him let go of Fuyuhiko’s wrist. “That’s enough.” He was very disturbed at his brother’s behavior. The way his brother spoke was so emotionless and cold, even while he was threatening Fuyuhiko’s life.

“Um…” The tense moment was broken as Monokuma appeared again, wearing a tiny suit, right in front of Hajime.

“AH!” Said boy yelled, stumbling backwards.

“Oh, sorry, did I come at an awkward moment? You guys looked like you were having an argument so I didn’t want to interrupt. Guess I did anyway.” Monokuma said, sounding a bit awkward.

“What do you want?” Izuru asked curtly.

“I just decided that, in spirit of our tropical environment, that we should have some fun! So I’ve set up a two man comedy routine!” Monokuma explained.

“There’s only one of you though.” Ibuki said. Suddenly, as if on cue, Monomi appeared as well, wearing a dress.

“What? Why am I dressed like this?” Monomi asked. 

“Ah, thought so.” Nekomaru said.

“Anyway! Let’s get this show on the road!” Monokuma said, pulling Monomi onto the stage.

“Gooood evening everyone! I am Monokuma!”

“A-and I’m Monomi.” 

“Together we’re the Monokumas!” 

“Now, for my first act, I will use my mind reading technique!”

“You can read minds?”

“Yup! And I will use it to guess your favorite food!”

“You can do it! Here’s a hint, I’m a rabbit.”

“Ca…”

“Go on…”

“...davers.”

“What? I don’t eat dead people!”

“It's your turn now, Monomi! Let's hear your best killer joke!”

“W...What are you talking about?! I...I’m no killer!”

“Oh, you'll be fine. It’s easy! You just have to know the secret to appeasing the God of Comedy. ...Speaking of, which do you think is better: draining your blood while you're still alive, or waiting until after you die?”

“Why such a cruel question?!”

“Oh come on! If I’m going to summon the Comedeity I need blood!” 

“Why does a God of Comedy need blood!?”

“Pretty please?”

“No! I will not let you take my blood!”

“Jeez, you have such a bad temper sis. You guys better be careful, Monomi can get scary when she’s angry. She’s like the tutorial boss!”

“That’s not menacing at all!”

“But you should be careful, she’s a bad girl. Just between you and me… Monomi selfishly stole all your memories.”

Everyone, who had been looking at the scene with a mixture of annoyance and boredom suddenly tensed up in shock. Izuru’s eyes widened and he could feel Hajime’s body go rigid. 

“Not one of you bastards remembers how you arrived on this island, do you? That's because Monomi took you bastards' memories away!” 

“W...What are you saying?!” 

“By the way, those memories she stole? They aren't just some silly, clichéd stuff like the details of your arrival here. Oh no... She took away several years you bastards spent at Hope's Peak Academy!” Izuru could feel his heart speed up at those words, and he clutched his chest. 

“...Howawa!?”

“Aaah... It’s such a relief to get that out in the open! Memory loss is so old fashioned, after all... A cheap story would shamelessly leave that revelation hanging until the endgame! Can you imagine?! Fortunately, I’m not that cowardly.” Hajime could almost feel the irony in those words.

“S...Stop it, please!”

“Upupupu. Surprised? You bastards aren't actually freshmen! But you’ve all forgotten that, so you think you still are! Isn’t that just rotten? And... it’s such a familiar plot device... Is this plagiarism?! It’s not even original!!”

“Y...You really can't do this!” Monokuma suddenly punched Monomi in the face, sending her flying. “Gyaaaaaaaa! That's not what they mean by punch-line!” 

Everyone was silent, too shocked for words. Their memories had been erased? Several years? What… was going on?

“What was that all about?” Byakuya asked, finally breaking the silence. 

“Oh, you mean that ‘school memories’ thing? It’s simple! Your memories have been erased!” Monokuma said again.

“Ha ha, ha ha... huh? This can't be, right? I mean, yesterday was Ibuki’s first day at Hope’s Peak Academy! And we got taken here straight after that…” Ibuki was obviously trying to sound cheerful, but it was obvious she was disturbed.

“You only think that because your memories have been taken away!” Monokuma said, far too cheerfully.

“B-but how?! That’s impossible!” Hajime yelled.

“I wonder how many years it’s been? How long have you all been students there? ...And what happened to your families and friends? That's one more thing to be worried about, isn't it?” Monokuma taunted. That made Izuru wonder. Although he didn’t have any friends besides Hajime, and he didn’t care too much for his parents, he was still a bit worried. 

“A...All of our school life memories were taken?! I haven't heard a sillier story in my life!” Nekomaru screamed

“He's right! No way my memory's gone!” Kazuichi agreed.

“Y...You can't listen to what he's saying! Don't listen to him!” That only made Monomi sound suspicious in Izuru’s mind however.

Everyone was freaking out, yelling out denials and shouts of fear. Izuru felt Hajime start to hyperventilate next to him, which made Izuru grab his brother’s arm tightly, getting his attention. Izuru mumbled ‘breathe’ to his brother, making Hajime do his best to breathe slower.

“But don’t worry! I’m a kind bear so I’ll give you back your memories!” Monokuma said happily.

“What?!” Monomi cried out.

“There’s a catch isn’t there.” Izuru said.

“Upupupupu~” 

“Don’t tell me… the catch is?” Chiaki said, sounding scared.

“That’s right! I want a killing out of you bastards! This is my one and only non-negotiable condition!” Monokuma yelled, laughing. “You guys want your memories back right? So kill kill kill! Make it a murder to remember!”

“Hey, asshole! I've let you say whatever's on your mind for way too long!” Akane said, looking furious.

“ Oh? Why so angry? All I did was give you a motive out of the kindness of my heart. I mean, before now you bastards were too scared to kill, weren't you? Well, I guess that's natural. Humans come out of the womb bawling. You’re cowards from the moment you’re born.” Monokuma said. “And that's why I had to give you bastards a motive. You needed some justification in order to kill.”

“Give me a break, do you really think anyone here is going to kill just because of your delusional stories?” Byakuya asked.

“He’s right! I don’t even believe that story anyway!” Mahiru agreed.

“Maybe _you_ don’t. But someone else here might.” Monokuma said sinisterly. 

“What…?” Mahiru asked.

“You don’t know jack shit about each other. You haven’t even noticed there’s a traitor among you!” With that, everyone froze. Traitor?

“Why are there 17 of you? Only 15 students were supposed to come on this trip, so why are there two extras? There must be a traitor here, that not even _I_ knew about! Hell, there might even be two for all I know!” 

“What the fuck are you saying?” Fuyuhiko asked angrily.

“He’s just trying to confuse us.” Peko said.

“But... can you really be sure of that? You know nothing about each other, after all. You don’t know each other’s true natures… Would any of you even notice if one of you was scheming murder? I don’t think you would! Do you?!” Monokuma taunted, letting out a laugh.

Everyone went silent again, looking at each other distrustfully.

“You see, if I'm right and there really is a traitor among you, that would be a terrible thing. Don’t you want to get revenge on the imposter who’s trying to trick you? Are you really going to let them get away with this? Of course not! Your only choice is to attack first! Whoever's the fastest is going to win this lottery! If you want to survive, you’ll have to kill before you get killed... Ahahahaha!” With a final laugh Monokuma disappeared.

“Um... Is one of us really a traitor...? It isn't me! I may look suspicious, but... I swear, it isn't me!” Mikan cried, tearing up.

“WHO IS IT?! TELL US RIGHT NOW! THE MORE YOU POSTPONE IT THE MORE YOU'LL REGRET IT!” Nekomaru screamed angrily.

“Calm down. There’s no traitor. Why would there be? We shouldn't even have this silly discussion.” Byakuya said sternly.

“Exactly! There’s no evidence for it at all.” Teruteru whimpered out.

“Monomi, you can confirm it.” Peko turned to the rabbit, giving her a terrifying stare.

“Um... You see... If you dwell too much on the past... you’ll lose sight of the future... So ...Fix your eyes only on the future! L...Let's all do our best to live on!!” With that, Monomi disappeared as well. 

“Ah, she ran away!” Akane yelled, shocked.

“Feh. Worthless rabbit. Memory loss... traitors... that's straight out of fairy tales.” Fuyuhiko said, huffing. 

Hajime figured that Fuyuhiko was right. There was no way there was a traitor among them. But… he couldn’t help but think about what Monokuma said ‘You don’t know each other’s true natures.’ Even though he knew Izuru like the back of his hand, he was still shocked when Izuru had threatened Fuyuhiko’s life. He’d never seen his brother act so… threatening before. 

*Ding dong dong ding*

“Ahem, This is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee... It is now 10pm. Please rest peacefully, along with the soothing sound of the waves. Well then, pleasant dreams. Goodnight…” The nighttime announcement rang out. 

“What do we do now?” Chiaki asked.

“We should disperse for the night. Sleep and clear our heads.” Byakuya suggested.

“That’s reasonable. Although it’s doubtful we will be able to sleep very well. But it is good to think to ourselves.” Izuru agreed. Everyone mumbled in agreement, leaving to their own cottages. 

Back at their cottage Hajime groaned, falling onto the bed. 

“A traitor… Or even two…” Hajime muttered.

“You’re thinking the same thing I am aren’t you?” Izuru asked.

“That we’re the traitors… since we can’t remember our talents?” Hajime muttered into the bed.

“Yes… But just that doesn’t make us traitors. Besides, we’re just as clueless as everyone else. I have a feeling that the traitor knows they’re the traitor.” Izuru explained. Hajime hummed thoughtfully. It was true. It’d be better for the traitor to remember their identity.

“For now, let’s just sleep.” Izuru said.

“Yeah… g’night bro.”

“Goodnight.”


	9. Party∞Party

Izuru couldn’t sleep that night. So, around 5 in the morning, he decided to walk take a walk around the island, looking for anything that could help. 

After finding nothing that could be used to get off the island, he started studying the various plants and a few of the animals on the island. There weren’t many animals besides a few butterflies, lots of birds, and a couple small rodents. What really caught his eye though was the plant life. 

Most of it was completely normal however, there were various plants that were deadly, though they were not uncommon to be found in gardens and such. 

“Buttercups… hemlock… Oleander… Iris… Monkshood… Daffodils… Roses… Tulips, mostly yellow… Coriander… Celandine… Calendula… purple and white Hyacinth… Cypress…” Izuru mumbled to himself, listing the flowers he saw. When he got bored with that, he went to the hotel restaurant. The food wasn’t there yet, so he supposed Monokuma or whoever made their food hadn’t done it yet.

Deciding he had nothing better to do, he went into the small kitchen attached to the restaurant and started to cook.

Two hours later, when the Monokuma announcement aired, Hajime woke up groggily. He woke up completely however when he realized that Izuru wasn’t there. He jumped out of bed, looked around the cottage for his brother frantically, and when he couldn’t find him, started to panic. 

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and thought rationally. The chances of Izuru being hurt were slim, so, he calmly got ready. After he was dressed he exited the cottage, searching for his brother. He ran into a few other people, but they said they hadn’t seen him. 

‘Maybe he just got up before me or something and went to the meeting place early or something… yeah… that’s it. He’s fine. Izuru is fine.’ Hajime repeated to himself as he walked up the stairs. Once he entered, he saw a large amount of food piled up, as well as Izuru, Teruteru, Nekomaru and Sonia.

Teruteru was sulking in the corner, while Sonia and Nekomaru were eating eagerly. Izuru was eating as well, but with not as much gusto as the others.

“Izuru! What the hell?” Hajime yelled, making his brother look up confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I wake up this morning and you’re gone! You have no idea how freaked out I was.” Hajime mumbled. Izuru looked down, seeming a little ashamed.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk.” Izuru explained. Hajime huffed and sat down across from Izuru piling some food on his plate. It took him a second to realize it was different from normal.

“Hey, this is different. Monokuma or whoever usually doesn’t have this kind of food out.” 

“I know! It is so much better than normal!” Sonia said happily.

“It’s amazing! Full of protein!” Nekomaru yelled happily.

“Humph, still not as good as _my_ dishes!” Teruteru cried. 

“Who made it?” Hajime asked.

“We do not know, it was here when I arrived this morning, Nekomaru and Izuru showed up soon after, and then Teruteru.” Sonia explained. At that moment, more people filed in. Byakuya and Akane were immediately drawn to the food, wolfing it down more eagerly than usual. 

“Holy moley! This stuff is great! Teruteru, did you make this?” Akane asked.

“NO! My food is much better than this slop!” The chef yelled out. Hajime, finally deciding to take a bit, immediately realized who made it. He’d eaten Izuru’s cooking before, and he knew that his brother had made this. Hajime glanced at his brother, who looked back and winked. He thought that no one had seen him but…

“Oh my gosh! Izzy! Did you make this food? It’s sooooo yummy!” Ibuki yelled, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“I… did.” Izuru mumbled out.

“Whoa! Who thought a guy like that could make such good food!” Kazuichi yelled in surprise.

“I wonder, could your talent be related to food?” Nagito asked.

“Doubtful. Teruteru is already the Super High School Level Cook, so I highly doubt they’d have two students in the same class with similar talents. I just like cooking.” Izuru said simply. 

“Yeah! He’s right! And like I said, this food pales in comparison to mine!” Teruteru yelled, looking furious.

“Still, why did you make breakfast Izuru?” Mahiru asked.

“I couldn’t sleep, so around 6 I decided to make breakfast since it wasn’t laid out yet like usual.” The red eyed teen explained. 

“Hmph, I will say I am impressed. However, now that we’ve eaten, let us talk about important matters. Where is Fuyuhiko however?” Byakuya asked.

"Maybe something bad happened?" Ibuki suggested nervously.

“You should not jump to conclusions like this... I just saw him outside. He is not dead. However, he told me he is not coming to breakfast.” Peko explained.

“Ugh, that guy, now’s not the time to go all lone wolf on us.” Mahiru groaned out. 

“M-maybe he’s scheming something? L-like murder!” Kazuichi said, looking nervous.

“Kazuichi! Do not doubt your friends like that!” Sonia yelled sternly.

“The guy’s a fucking yakuza! He’s suspicious by default!” 

“I suspect he won't come even if we call him. That's just the kind of man he is…” Byakuya muttered. “I guess I have no choice... We'll have our discussion without him. Someone can tell him what we decided later.” 

“Huh? What are we discussing?” Hajime asked curiously.

“You will be happy to know I’ve decided to throw a party this evening.” Byakuya said smugly.

“A-a-a-a party?” Mikan asked.

“Yes. A party that will last until morning.” 

“Whaaa!? Partying from dusk til dawn?” Ibuki yelled, shocked.

“I should warn you - absence is prohibited. This is a party with compulsory attendance.” Byakuya’s tone was serious, letting everyone know that he meant business. 

“Why are we having a party?” Izuru asked. “It seems pointless. It’s already been proven that none of us trust each other, so why bother?” 

“Maybe that’s why we need a party? I mean, we’re all pretty down right now so we need to get cheered up, as well as get rid of that distrust.” Nagito suggested, looking at Byakuya.

“My reasons do not matter. We just need to be gathered in one location tonight.” Byakuya said, turning away.

“You’re hiding something.” Izuru said simply.

“That is a closed case. We are having a party tonight, end of discussion.” 

“If we intend to do this, we’re going to do it proper, so let _me_ handle the food! And I’ll show you how superior mine is!” Teruteru exclaimed.

“Where are we going to have it? Is this restaurant good enough?” Chiaki asked.

“No... This place is no good... We want a place that isn't so accessible from outside… Somewhere we can keep that Monokuma out of. A closed space.” Byakuya said.

“What about the old building? It only seems to have one entrance, however, Monomi said that it is off limits because of renovations.” Izuru suggested. As if on cue, Monomi popped out, looking cheery as ever.

“I heard the whole thing with my own two ears! I’m a rabbit so I have very good hearing.” The plushie said happily.

“I see. So you have to depend on your ears. That is most certainly strange.” Byakuya wondered aloud.

“Huh?”

“What are those surveillance cameras for then? Are they only for Monokuma?” Byakuya’s question seemed to make Monomi get depressed, going silent.

“Whatever, I have a feeling she’s here to talk to us about that old building.”

“Correct! If it’s for strengthening your bonds, I’ll let you all use it! I'm going to help too, so let's enjoy a fun party together!”

“Ha! Fat chance! We’d never invite a loser like you!” Hiyoko said coldly.

“Um… let’s all… enjoy…” With a sob, Monomi disappeared again.

“So… the old building is where it’s gonna happen?” Mahiru asked, most likely in an attempt to ease the awkward tension. “We’ll have to clean it though probably since it’s being renovated.”

“Ooh! It’ll be my first time getting my hands dirty like that!” Sonia said excitedly.

“No! I will not let my princess’s hands get dirty!” Kazuichi yelled.

“It’d be good for her though. After all, she’s never done something like that before, and even if she is a princess, it’s a good skill to have.” Izuru mumbled. “Besides, I’ll help her. I don’t mind cleaning.” 

“B-but…” 

“I would feel bad if Izuru had to help me though… I can do it myself!” Sonia said confidently. 

“Sonia, you have no idea how to clean do you?” Izuru asked.

“Well… no… but…”

“Let me help you. I’ll do most of the cleaning, you can decorate.” Izuru replied. 

“Oh! That I can do!” Sonia said excitedly. Hajime blinked. He’d really never expected Izuru to offer to do something like that. But he wasn’t going to complain. His brother would interact with people, and that’s all he cared about. 

“So, Izuru and Sonia will prepare the building for the party, Teruteru will cook the meals, and I will be on security duty.” Byakuya confirmed. Everyone seemed to agree. “We will all meet at the old building after Monokuma’s evening announcement.” With that, the subject was over. 

Everyone left the room, going off their own ways, while Sonia, Izuru and Teruteru went to the old building to prepare. Hajime, not really in the mood to do much, decided to take a nap on the beach. 

When he woke up, it was to someone poking him gently. He blearily opened his eyes, and saw Nagito standing above him.

“Well this is a familiar scene.” Nagito causually said, making Hajime laugh a little.

“Really.” Hajime sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned a little.

“What are you doing on the beach though?” Nagito asked.

“Taking a nap. I was bored, and I didn’t feel like doing much.” He answered. 

“Hmm… mind if I do nothing with you?” Nagito asked. Hajime shrugged. 

“Sure.” Hajime laid back on the sand, and Nagito did the same.

“So… have you and Izuru done any of those pranks of switching places before?” Nagito asked after a few minutes.

“We tried, but Izuru has always had red eyes, so it never worked.” Hajime said. “If it was from the back, people mistook us for each other, or if we were asleep, but usually not.” 

“Ah. That makes sense. You two do look alike though, facial features and such.” Nagito said happily. “You two seem really close too. It’s nice.” 

“Yeah… Izuru hasn’t really been… the most… social person. He usually only opens up around me. Though, I think that if he makes good friends, he’ll open up to others.” Hajime muttered.

The two talked for a long time, talking about various things like movies or video games, until it grew dark and the nighttime announcement aired.

“Ah, I guess it’s time for the party. I can’t wait to see what Sonia and Izuru did!” Nagito sat up quickly, and Hajime followed.

Both were unaware of the tragedy would occur that night.

 

Missing scene:

Monokuma whistled as he entered the restaurant’s kitchen, getting ready to prepare the breakfast for those ungrateful brats.

However, as he entered, he saw a certain long haired teen standing in the kitchen, apron on, standing over a pan of eggs and rice. Izuru turned when he heard Monokuma enter, stared for a moment, then turned back to his work, not saying a word.

The black and white bear wasn’t sure what to do. However, glad that he didn’t have to work today, he grabbed some martini mix from the pantry, and ran back to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points to whoever can guess what the flowers mean.


	10. The Fall

Entering the old building, Nagito and Hajime ran into Byakuya, who was standing guard near the entrance.

“Good, you came. Now, hold out your arms and face me.” Byakuya said without missing a beat. Hajime felt his heart stop for a moment.

“Huh? Why?” He asked. He wasn’t too keen on Byakuya feeling him up. 

“I need to do a body check. I need to make sure you’re not carrying any dangerous items.” Byakuya explained. Hajime sighed, holding his arms out reluctantly. Byakuya started from Hajime’s legs, going up, and when he got too close to Hajime’s crotch, the smaller male kicked him, making the heir huff. 

When Byakuya felt Hajime’s back, he felt something hard and slightly pointy.

“And what is that?” 

“It’s a zipper.” Hajime explained, voice slightly strained.

“A zipper to _what?_ ”

“A binder OK? That’s all you need to know. Can I go now?” Hajime asked curtly. Byakuya seemed to take a moment before realizing what Hajime meant. The heir nodded firmly as he allowed Hajime to pass. 

Hajime felt embarrassed. He hadn’t expected to come out to Byakuya of all people, especially like that. He wandered down the hallway, finding Izuru in the hallway.

“Hajime. You’re pale.” Izuru said simply. Hajime sighed, knowing that he couldn’t hide anything from his brother. “I’m assuming it was the body check.” 

“Yeah… I had to tell Byakuya I was wearing a binder.”

“How long have you been wearing that anyway?” Izuru asked.

“Um… all day.” Hajime replied sheepishly.

“Hajime. You _know_ you’re not supposed to-”

“I know, I know.”

“You’ve taken some breaks from wearing it the last few days, so I wasn’t too worried, but if you’ve worn it all day, it’s not good for you.” Izuru was a bit concerned for his brother’s health. Hajime had been wearing the thing almost non stop lately, only taking short breaks when Izuru reminded him.

“Anyway… let’s just, go in with everyone else. I’ll take breaks every so often in the bathroom or something.” Izuru narrowed his eyes, but sighed, knowing he wouldn’t change his brother’s mind. The two entered the dining hall where everyone else was.

Sonia had decorated the hall with various flowers and what looked like hand cut paper decorations. White tablecloths had been laid out over tables, atop which sat various dishes of food, ranging from Japanese all the way to American. 

“Whoa… Sonia, did you do all this?” Hajime asked. The princess gave a tiny laugh.

“Mostly, Izuru helped me however. He helped me pick out the flowers as well as hold me up to put the decorations on the walls. He is a very chivalrous gentleman.” Sonia said happily.

“That’s something I didn’t expect really. I guess he’s not as unreliable as I thought.” Mahiru said thoughtfully. Izuru had gone a little red at the girls’ words. He muttered a small thank you. 

“Teruteru cooked all this food by himself. I offered to help, but he literally kicked me out of the kitchen.” Izuru mumbled. Hajime sighed. His brother wasn’t good at knowing when he’d made someone mad sometimes. It was obvious that Teruteru was upset about Izuru’s cooking skills, yet Izuru didn’t seem to realize this.

“Well, it looks delicious and… wait what?” Hajime asked, looking towards the back of the room where there were iron plates on the wall. “Why are there iron plates on the wall?”

“They’re probably covering windows. I’m not sure why though.” Izuru said simply. 

Hajime looked around the room, scanning everyone’s faces. He was happily surprised to see Gundam’s hamsters eating some of the garnish on the dishes. Though, there was one missing. He glanced around and saw its’ head poking out of Izuru’s shirt pocket. It seems like Izuru had gotten used to the hamster’s liking him.

Eventually everyone else, sans Fuyuhiko piled in. They spoke for a bit before Byakuya interrupted.

“Dangerous.” The man said. He stomped over to one of the tables, grabbing three dishes off the table, and began to eat them.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Hajime yelled in surprise.

“Hey! No fair, you’re eating all the food!” Akane yelled.

“No, I’m not.” Byakuya said with a mouth full of food.

“I don’t care what you say, you’re totally pigging out.” Mahiru said.

“No… just, look at this dish.”

“It looks like delicious roasted meat.” Nekomaru said, sounding hungry.

“And just what is stabbed through this roasted meat?” Byakuya asked.

“It’s an iron skewer.” Peko observed.

“Exactly, these skewers are a dangerous item.” Byakuya said, finishing the meat.

Teruteru suddenly walked in, happily noting that almost everyone was here. Then he saw the mess that Byakuya had made of his dish.

“What are you plotting? These iron skewers could be used as a weapon.”

“Eh? Those aren’t even allowed?” Teruteru said shocked. Byakuya took that as meaning there were more dangerous items hiding in the kitchen, so he dragged Hajime off to the kitchen, to search for items.

After everything dangerous was sealed in the case Byakuya had with him, the party was almost ready to begin.

“First thing’s first, we need to make sure Monokuma isn’t able to interfere.” Byakuya said. Everyone was silent, thinking.

“... Maybe if we have someone guarding the door? And they can distract him?” Chiaki suggested.

“Hmm… that’s a good idea. Perhaps we can enlist Monomi’s help, her and Monokuma don’t seem to get along, so her distracting him would work well.” Hajime added. 

“Yeah, I was thinking that too.” Chiaki agreed. “I’ll do it then.”

“You? Why?” Izuru asked.

“I want to make sure this party is perfect, so I don’t want Monokuma to ruin it.” Chiaki mumbled with a casual tone. 

“Very well. We also need someone to guard the case with the dangerous items. I’ve already locked the key inside the other case, which I will keep on my person.” Byakuya declared.

“I shall do it. Situations like this are not my strong point.” Peko offered.

“The office would be a good place. The storage room is still rather crowded with boxes. I dusted and such, but the boxes I left alone, mostly due to the fact that all of them were filled, and there wasn’t any room to move them.” Izuru notified.

“Good. Chiaki will guard the door, while Peko will guard the case in the office.”

“I wish to take some food with me, it would be a waste if I did not.” Peko put in. “Would that be alright?”

“Of course! Here, let me.” Teruteru cried happily, piling food onto a plate for her. Peko and Chiaki left, going to their respective posts.

“Now then, let’s eat!” Byakuya shouted.

The party began in full swing. Byakuya and Akane were of course the first to dig into the food, while everyone else went slower, savoring the food.

Izuru, Hajime and Nagito were talking to each other when they suddenly heard someone give a wheezing cough. They turned to look at the source.

“I… do not feel so good.” Sonia said, looking a bit red in the face. She was drooling a bit as well. Her body was twitching a bit as well.

“Sonia? Are you OK?” Hajime asked, approaching the girl. She began to sway in place, then doubled over, clutching her stomach. Mikan suddenly rushed over, checking on Sonia. 

“Ah! Her pupils are severely dilated, and-and it seems like her muscles are swelling!” Mikan put her hand to Sonia’s wrist. “H-her heart rate is much too fast and-” Mikan was cut off as Sonia vomited.

“Wh-what’s wrong with her?” Kazuichi yelled.

“It-it seems like poisoning but I don’t-” Mikan yelled, right before Sonia collapsed, her body going limp, her eyes rolling up, and she fell unconscious. “AAAH! S-Sonia, stay with us!” Mikan began giving Sonia CPR but, it was too late, eventually, her heart slowed down, and she stopped breathing. 

“She… she’s gone…” Mikan whispered, sobbing. 

“She’s… gone?” Hajime whispered, more to himself than anything. Izuru was shocked as well, however, he was taking deep, slow breaths to calm himself down. 

“Wh… why? How did this?” Mahiru asked, whimpering. “AAAAAAAAH!”

“Ahahahaha!” The high pitched, familiar laugh echoed through the dining hall, as Monokuma appeared. “Finally! A killing just like I wanted!” 

“You… Are you serious? Someone… someone…” Mahiru whimpered, her face pale.

“Yup yup! One of you bastards killed little miss Snow White over there!” Suddenly, Peko came inside, along with Chiaki, both of them had heard the screams.

“Is… is that?”

“Why… Why is Sonia?” Both girls were shocked, and pale.

“Well, looks like almost everyone is here, except Fuyuhiko, and I would hate to leave him out soooo” The bear disappeared.

*Bing bong bing bong*

“We’ve got a corpse here! After a certain amount of time, a class trial will occur.” The bear disappeared from the screen, and reappeared in the dining hall.

“Class trial?” Hajime asked, he remembered Monokuma had said something about it before, but… he didn’t believe it.

“I explained it before, didn’t I? When a murder occurs between you bastards, you are required to reason out who the culprit among you is.” Monokuma explained again.

“Y...You want us to find the culprit...? We’re just high school kids! We’re not the police!” Hajime protested.

“I don’t care! You guys need to find the culprit or you die!” With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving them all in shock.

“I… failed.” Byakuya whispered, looking defeated. “I failed to protect you all.”

“Byakuya… you couldn’t have predicted something like this. I mean, did you even consider poisoning or whatever it was?” Hajime asked.

“No… but…”

“Then it’s not your fault. The most you can do now is find the culprit, and bring them to justice.” Izuru commented dryly. Byakuya took a deep breath, and calmed himself.

“You’re right. I swear on my name, I will not let this crime go unpunished.”

“But… did one of us really kill Sonia? I mean… this-this could’ve been an accident or something. L-like, Teruteru accidentally put in something poisonous, or-or Sonia was allergic to something in the food!” Mahiru yelled. 

“That’s still murder!” Monokuma screamed, appearing directly in front of the redhead, making her shriek and stumble backwards. “The only death that doesn’t count as a murder would be dying of sickness!” 

“That’s… so cruel.” Monomi cried out. No one had noticed that she was there until she spoke. “Y-you shouldn’t doubt each other…”

“We cannot deny the fact that Sonia was killed, and from everything that has happened, someone is responsible.” Byakuya retorted, looking serious as ever.

“Anyway, I also wanted to give you this! It’s the Monokuma file! It gives you all the details about the body and how she died. C’mon sis, we gotta leave these bastards to their investigating!”

“Ow! Don’t pull on my ears! You’ll rip them off!” With that, the two stuffed animals disappeared under the floorboards.

“We need to investigate, if we do not, we will be killed. Mikan, can you an autopsy on Sonia?” Izuru demanded. It seemed as though he had put himself in charge.

“Y-yes… I can… b-but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find the kind of poison that was used… es-especially without equipment.” The girl stuttered.

“We also need people to guard the crime scene, Nekomaru, Peko, do you think you can do that?” 

“I believe so. I will not let anyone tamper with the scene.” The silver haired girl replied.

“HEY! KILLER! IF YOU TRY AND PULL ANYTHING I’LL DESTROY YOU!” Nekomaru promised loudly.

“The rest of us will take care of the investigation.”

 

**INVESTIGATE**

Hajime pulled out the Monokuma file, which displayed Sonia’s information, as well as a picture of the crime scene.

**The victim was Sonia Nevermind, the Super High School Level Princess**  
**The victim’s body was discovered in the dining hall of the Hotel Mirai’s old building**  
**The time of death was around midnight.**  
**The cause of death was respiratory failure from an unknown poison**

“That’s it?” Hajime asked.

“It’d be too easy if they told us what the poison was.” Nagito wondered aloud.

“True… But if it was poison, I guess that means it was in the food or drink?” Hajime suggested. “What did Sonia eat or drink?” 

“She drank some soda poured into wine glasses, and a salad. She didn’t eat anything else as far as I’m aware.” Izuru said, walking over to the table where Sonia had her food. He started picking through all the various leaves and vegetables, looking for anything. “I don’t see anything unusual here though. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, scallions, spinach…carrots… parsley…” 

“Sounds like a normal salad…” Hajime mumbled.

“And since the soda came from the bottle, it’s unlikely that the poison came from the drink.” Izuru muttered. After finding no other clues in the dining hall, Hajime, Izuru and Nagito entered the kitchen, where Teruteru was pacing anxiously.

“Teruteru, we need to ask you something.” Izuru’s voice seemed to startle the chef, as he jumped.

“O-oh, it’s just you guys. Ooh… why? Why did this happen? I-I-I didn’t put anything bad in the dish so why did Sonia die?” Teruteru whimpered.

“Teruteru, listen, I don’t think you killed her. Can you tell us what you put in the salad?” Hajime asked curiously.

“U-um… sure! I put in lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, scallions, onions… and that’s it!” 

“What about carrots and parsley?” Izuru questioned.

“Eh? I didn’t put that in! Who messed up my dish! Who added things without my permission!?” Teruteru yelled looking angry.

“Interesting…” Nagito muttered. The trio left the kitchen, and talked to the others, getting information about the incident.

“Poor Sonia… I saw her earlier picking flowers from around the hotel, Monomi got mad at her until Sonia explained what she was using them for. Monomi and Sonia were so happy! Though, I didn’t see some of the things she picked at the party, maybe she threw them away?” Mahiru wondered.

“What else did she pick?” Hajime asked.

“Well, most of them were flowers but a few other things weren’t flowers. Just some regular plants. One had a really weird smell. It smelled like a mix of a mouse and parsnips.” Mahiru mumbled. Izuru, who had been writing down everything at that point, paused for a brief moment, before writing again. 

*Ding dong bing bong*

“Attention everyone! The class trial will be beginning soon, so please, head over to Monokuma rock on the central island!” 

“I guess that’s all the time we have… we should go then…” Nagito sighed.

“We barely have any clues! This is going to be a disaster…” Hajime mumbled. Izuru rolled his eyes and smacked his brother upside the head.

“No it’s not. We have all the clues we need.” 

With those final words of comfort, the three ran off to the central island, where a deadly trial awaited them.

Truth Bullets:  
**Monokuma File #1**  
**Salad**  
**Soda**  
**Teruteru’s account**  
**Mahiru’s account**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, a few things I want to mention. Yes, Hajime is a trans male, no, I did not make this up on the spot. I was planning it and wanted to put the tag in once it was revealed.  
> Hajime and Izuru are fraternal twins, Hajime was born with two X chromosomes, while Izuru was born with an X and a Y. More will be said later.  
> Also, sorry Sonia fans.  
> Next, one of you guys already made a good guess on what each flower meant, and here are the ones I chose.  
> Roses: (I didn't specify which kind in the last chapter, but they were Red and White roses) Unity  
> Buttercup: Humility  
> Hemlock: You will be my death  
> Oleander: Beware  
> Iris: I have a message for you  
> Monkshood: Beware, A Deadly Foe is Near  
> Daffodil: You're the Only One  
> Tulip, mostly yellow: Hopeless Love  
> Coriander: Concealed Merit  
> Celandine: Joys to Come  
> Calendula: Despair  
> Hyacinth (purple): Please forgive me, Sorrow  
> Hyacinth (white): I'll pray for you  
> Cypress: Despair


	11. Trial for Hope and Despair

“I knew Monokuma was full of himself but this is just pure narcissism.” Izuru commented, staring up at the mountain with four Monokumas carved into it.

“Wh… when did he even set that up?” Hajime asked, looking stunned. “I mean… just… what the shit?”

“C’mon you giant pussy! I don’t care if you’re sad or whatever, you gotta come to the trial!” Monokuma’s voice broke through air and they all turned to see the bear dragging a weeping Kazuichi behind him.

“Miss Sonia… Why did it have to be her?” The mechanic whimpered. Gundam, who had been silent, walked over to Kazuichi, and slapped him.

“Cease your weeping. I know that you were fond of her, but blubbering like an infant will not solve anything. If you truly care about her, you will do your best to avenge her, to find the killer in this catastrophe.” Gundam commanded. Kazuichi stared at the breeder for a long time before taking a deep breath.

“You’re right man. Sorry… I… for Miss Sonia, I’ll do it!” With newfound courage, Kazuichi entered Monokuma rock with everyone else. 

The elevator descended into the ground fast. The rocking of the elevator car was jarring, and made Hajime worry that it was going to fall. He didn’t realize that he had stopped breathing until his vision started to go black. 

By the time they reached the courtroom, everyone was on edge. The trial room had 17 podiums each one with a name. However, one of the podiums had no name, and was instead replaced by a picture of Sonia, with septures making an X across her face.

“Ahahaha! Welcome to the school courtroom! How do you like it? It’s the place that will decide you bastards’ fate!” Monokuma yelled out, laughing. The bear quickly sat down on a throne near that was sitting on top of a set of stairs. Monomi was tied up with rope and hanging from the ceiling, making Hajime stare.

“Why is Monomi like that?”

“Huh? Oh, my poor, dumb little sister decided to try and sneak into the courtroom, I think she was trying to ‘save’ you guys, so I tied her up.” Monokuma explained.

“You’re so cruel Monokuma! You can’t make them do this!” The rabbit yelled out.

“Yes he can. And as long as he can, we need to cooperate or else we’re going to die. We can’t rush this either or else we could make a miscalculation and choose the wrong person.” Byakuya told everyone sternly, taking his place in the courtroom.

Hajime and Izuru took their places, on opposite sides of the room, and prepared themselves for a trial of Hope and Despair.

“Before we begin, let me explain the rules of the class trial in simple terms. Your task is to reason out the identity of the culprit, and vote on who to accuse! Should you correctly identify the culprit, they alone shall be punished! But if you vote for the wrong person…” The last sentence was spoken with such an ominous tone that sent shivers up everyone’s spines. “Then everyone except the culprit shall be punished, and the culprit shall be given permission to leave the island!”

“Those rules are too cruel...!” Monomi sobbed.

“...Before we begin, there is one thing I want to confirm. Is the culprit really one of us?” Nagito questioned.

“Of course they are... Our murderous culprit is definitely one of you. It truly is a sad tale, isn't it? By the way, this school trial is 100% fair and square, so please relax.” Somehow, Monokuma’s words weren’t comforting. “After Monomi, favoritism and injustice are the things I hate the most!” 

“You really hate me that much?!” The stuffed rabbit sobbed.

“Well, then, let's begin!”

“Y-you’re telling us to start but… what are we supposed to do?” Mikan whimpered.

“First, I would like to say something.” Byakuya suddenly pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to the others.

‘Watch out. The first murder will occur tonight. It is inevitable.’

“What is… a warning letter?” Hajime exclaimed.

“This was in my mailbox this morning. It is the reason why I decided to have a party. I wanted everyone in an enclosed space, so that no one would be killed… it looks like that effort was futile.” The heir mumbled sadly.

“Hey! Who put that letter in Byakuya’s mailbox huh?” Akane yelled, looking ready to punch someone. No one said anything for a long time, before Izuru finally sighed.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s doubtful that the person who killed Sonia is the same person who sent this letter. It might even be a prank by Monokuma. Let’s just move on to finding out the actual killer. First, the cause of death was respiratory failure from an unknown poison.” Here, Izuru turned to Mikan.

“Mikan, I wasn’t able to talk to you before the class trial, but that did your autopsy reveal?” 

“W-well… without proper equipment, I wasn’t able to determine what the poison was b-but, what I saw was, all of her muscles were swollen, and-and before death there was paralysis, dilated pupils, excessive salivation, and vomiting. Th-those symptoms match a lot of poisons though! I-I also found some irritation on her hands and fingers.” Mikan explained.

“Irritation on her hands?” Akane asked.

“Maybe she got it from picking the flowers for the party?” Peko suggested.

“There are various plants around the hotel that can cause skin irritation.” Izuru put in.

“Maybe… some of the flowers that Sonia picked were poisonous and the poison or whatever soaked into her skin and made her die!” Ibuki yelled out.

“I don’t think so… Mahiru, you saw Sonia picking flowers right? What kind did she pick up?” Hajime urged.

“Well… most of them were normal flowers, but there was one of them that wasn’t a flower. It kind of looked like a wild carrot…” 

“A wild carrot?”

“Yeah, but it smelled really weird, like a mouse. Sonia said she was going to ask Teruteru what it was.” The redhead revealed. Said chef looked surprised.

“Teruteru, did Sonia ask you about it?” Hajime questioned the chef. Teruteru looked nervous and began to comb his hair.

“Yes actually! W-well, when I saw her, she showed me the thing, I told her it was a carrot. She looked very happy, but then asked why the carrot had parsley on top of it. I told her that it must be some kind of hybrid! I’ve never seen anything like that before. She took a bite and said it tasted like parsnips! How curious!” 

“Teruteru, you are a chef right?” Nagito asked.

“The best of them all!” 

“Then you can clearly tell the difference between edible plants and poisonous ones correct?” Nagito continued.

“Y-yes… of course.”

“I see… how disappointing.” The fluffy haired teen sighed.

“E-eh? What do you mean?” Teruteru asked, looking nervous.

“What _do_ you mean Nagito?” Hajime asked.

“He’s talking about how Teruteru obviously didn’t recognize poison hemlock when he saw it.” Izuru explained.

“P-poison hemlock?” Kazuichi yelled.

“Poison hemlock is a plant of which every part is poisonous. The roots heavily resemble that of wild carrots, with leaves that look like parsley, so it is often mistaken for them. It also has a smell that is similar to a mouse, and a taste that has been compared to parsnips. Prolonged exposure to the plants can cause skin irritation and rashes, and consumption of the roots and leaves can cause death in large doses, in only just an hour. Symptoms of hemlock poisoning match what happened to Sonia. This also explains the irritation on her hands.” Izuru’s words hung heavy in the courtroom.

“Are you implying that Teruteru intentionally lied to Sonia, in order to kill her?” Gundam finally asked.

“H-h-hold on a second now!” Teruteru cried. Izuru ignored him and turned to Monokuma.

“Monokuma, you said that the only thing that didn’t count as murder was dying of sickness, and Teruteru misleading Sonia means he caused her death correct?” 

“Upupupupu~” The bear laughed instead of giving an answer, making Izuru sigh.

“Teruteru, you told us that you didn’t put any carrots or parsley in the salad’s right? So that means Sonia must’ve added them herself. She thought that they were carrots and parsley, but in fact they were hemlock. She only put them in her salad because you told her they were safe. But you _knew_ what they were.” Hajime accused, making Teruteru start babbling nonsense in an accent that none of them could understand.

“Oi! But that about the mystery of who sent th’ letter to Byakuya over th’r’? Huh? Who did tha’?” The small chef screamed.

“That is unimportant right now. The important thing is that you willingly misled someone into eating poisonous food, knowing full well that it could kill her.” Byakuya roared, looking furious.

“I… I…. I… That-that wasn’t- I-I mean, S-Sonia killed herself pretty much! I-I-I mean, she was the one who-who… p-put the stuff in her f-food so-so… IT’S NOT MY FAULT!” Teruteru cried out, tears streaming down his face.

“Monokuma, does it count as suicide if Sonia put the poison in her own food, or is Teruteru responsible.” Izuru finally asked.

“Hmm… this is a pickle but… Considering Miss Snow White didn’t know what she was doing then… she ain’t responsable! Now, it’s voting time! Pull the lever in front of you to cast your vote, oh, and make triple sure you vote, you don’t want to make a silly mistake and get everyone killed.”

The votes were cast, and everyone chose Teruteru, who was sobbing.

“Y-you… why?! Why did you kill miss Sonia?” Kazuichi screamed, running over to the chef and picking him up by the collar.

“I-I-I had to… she… she’s waiting for me. Mama… I told her I’d come back home after I graduated. And-and Monokuma said that years had past… I need to know what happened to Mama!” 

“You… BASTARD!” Kazuichi pulled his arm back to punch Teruteru, but his arm was caught by Gundam.

“That is unnecessary. Attacking him will cause nothing more than you to be punished for violence. Calm yourself.” For a moment, Kazuichi seemed like he wasn’t going to listen to the breeder’s words but instead he let Teruteru drop the ground.

“Now then! I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Cook Teruteru Hanamura!” Monokuma said with a laugh.

“Wait! What happened to the Hanamura family diner!? What happened to Mama?!” The plump man yelled out. “You said you give me my memories back if I killed! S-so!”

“Oh… that’s right… I did say that didn’t I? Hmm…. since you’re gonna die in a second there’s no harm!” Monokuma suddenly put his hand to Teruteru’s head. After a moment Teruteru let out a scream of terror, his eyes filling with tears.

“MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” He yelled as he was dragged away.

**Super High School Level Cook Teruteru Hanamura’s punishment**

**DEEP FRIED TERUTERU**

The students could only watch as Teruteru was killed, and all of them felt sick to their stomachs. 

“Extreme! Whoooa! I can feel that adrenaline!” Monokuma laughed. Hajime was trembling in anger, and Izuru had to grab his brother’s wrist in order to keep him from doing anything.

“Why…?” Mahiru whimpered. “Why did this have to happen?”

“It happened because that guy couldn’t keep down his murderous urges. How sad. Only a violent person could kill someone in such a brutal way. I mean, hemlock poisoning isn’t a quick or painless death at all.” The black and white bear mocked.

“Why did you have to kill him though?!” Nekomaru screamed. 

“Well, he broke the rules didn’t he?” 

“You’re breaking the rules too.” Hajime accused. “You gave Teruteru his memories back, so now you give us ours. You said if a killing happened you’d give them back.”

“Ooh, I did say that didn’t I. Well, I’ll give them back… eventually.” Hajime’s blood ran cold at the words.

“Eventually!?” Hajime yelled angrily.

“He never did say when… I suspect the only reason why he gave Teruteru back his memories was because he was going to die.” Izuru said, clenching his fists.

“Bullseye!” The bear confirmed. “I’ll get to it eventually, I just don’t know when. Anyway, I gotta do some stuff! Bye!” Monokuma vanished, leaving them all in stunned silence.

“I… I must go too. There’s something I really need to do.” Monomi cried as she disappeared as well. 

Izuru looked around the room, staring at everyone. Kazuichi was sobbing the corner, while Gundam stood near him. Everyone else was in similar states of disbelief. 

“What… do we do now?” Peko asked.

“First, we return above ground... and get some rest. Then... we stand together once more. We give our all... that we might never again need see this awful place.” Byakuya commanded. “I will not let this happen again.”

“Yeah, you said that last time fatso, and look how it turned out.” Fuyuhiko taunted. 

“I made an error, and I will not make one again!” The heir promised. He then walked over to the elevator, pressed the button and waited. “Are you simpletons coming? Or do I have to send the elevator back down?” Everyone seemed to snap out of their stupors and ran to join the heir in the elevator. 

The ride back up was tense and silent, but eventually everyone made it up, and back to their cottages, not saying a word.

The moment they got back to their cottage, Hajime took off his binder, breathing a heavy sigh, as he could breathe easy again. He sat on the bed, face in his hands. Izuru, not sure what else to do, wrapped his brother in a hug.

Hajime was shirtless, and Izuru could see the marks left by the binder, making him frown.

“Hajime… it’s… I don’t want to say that it’s going to be alright because I don’t know if it will but… I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Izuru promised.

“I’m… thank you but… I don’t know what to do! Two of our friends are dead… there’s a black and white stuffed bear and our memories have been taken away! What’s going on!” Hajime yelled, doubling over.

“I don’t know Hajime… I wish I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I know that was lame as balls. I couldn't come up with something better. I'm ashamed of how horrible this whole mystery and first trial was. But I promise, the next few will be better, I swear.
> 
> Also, in the last chapter there was an error that made it seem like Sonia had made a comment about being poisoned, but no, it was Mikan who said it. I have fixed the error.


	12. Filler

“Heyyy! Zuzu! Wait! You’re too fast!”

“You’re just too slow Hanako.” 

“Shut up! Are we almost there?”

“Yeah, just over this hill.”

………… 

“Alright, we’re here.” The small boy said as he sat down on the grass. A girl the same age sat down across from him, playing with her hair. “Are you sure you want to do this? Mom and Dad are probably gonna be mad.”

“Yes! I don’t like my long hair. I want it short like yours…” The girl mumbled. The boy sighed and took out a pair of scissors that he’d stolen from their mother’s drawer. He ran a hand through his short brown hair, trying to smooth down the one piece that always stood up stubbornly.

“OK. Turn around.” When his sister obeyed, he wrapped a towel around her neck, like he’d seen the hairdressers do before. “I’ll do my best….” 

Two hours later and the young girl had an almost identical hair cut as her brother, even with an ahoge. The girl giggled happily as she ran her hands through her short hair, seeming very pleased. She hugged her brother tightly, making him let out a small sound of annoyance.

“Mom and Dad are going to kill us.” 

“Worth it. Thank you Izuru… you’re the best.”

 

“Hey… Izuru… can I talk to you about something?” A girl, who looked about the age of a middle schooler, stood in the doorway of a small bedroom.

A boy, the same age, sat at a desk, doing some kind of homework. He looked up from the papers and turned to his sister. “What is it?” He had never seen his sister so… scared. The girl closed the door quietly and locked it tightly.

“I… I don’t think… I’m a girl.” 

“Huh?”

“I think… I feel like I should be… a boy… I-I mean, being a girl, it doesn’t… feel right. I-I don’t know why I feel like this but I found a book in the library and it said something about being ‘trans’ but I couldn’t find any other books and I’m so confused…” The teenager said all in one breath.

“Hanako…”

“And that! The name, it doesn’t feel right. It’s a girl’s name and-and I don’t think I’m a girl. It-it doesn’t feel right! I feel like I’m… I’m a boy. Like you… I’m sorry, this is dumb, I should just-” The other suddenly grabbed his twin in a hug.

“It’s not dumb… If that’s how you feel, then I’m not going to make fun of you for it. We’ve had our differences, we’ve argued and fought, but I would never do anything that would actually hurt you. You seem serious about this so… I won’t put you down for it.” The red eyed boy leaned back and smiled as his brother. The other’s green eyes were filled with tears and he rubbed his eyes.

“Thank you… Izuru, you’re the best brother I could ask for.”

“You’re the best brother I could ask for too.” 

 

Their parents were indifferent. They didn’t accept Hajime, but they didn’t try and kick him out either. They only gave disapproving stares when Hajime cut his hair like Izuru’s, when he managed to convince the school to give him a boy’s uniform, and when he would try and correct them when they called him ‘Hanako’. 

The students at school made fun of him at first, until Izuru stepped in and things broke into a fight.

It was not long after that that the twins were accepted to Hope’s Peak.

 

Chapter 1: END

15 Alive

 

When Hajime awoke that morning his head was pounding, and his chest was sore. He groaned, rolling over. He felt his body hit something else, and whatever it was hit the floor with a thud. 

“Dick.” The voice was muffled, but it was still clearly Izuru’s. Hajime lifted his head and saw Izuru laying face down on the floor, not moving. 

“Sorry…” Hajime mumbled, not sounding sorry at all. The shorter twin buried his face in the pillows, trying to go back to sleep. Izuru got up off the floor, and got ready while his brother sulked in the bed sheets. 

When Izuru got out of the shower, Hajime was still curled up in the bed, making Izuru sigh. The Monokuma announcement came on, but Hajime only covered his head with the pillows to ignore it. 

“Hajime, you gotta get up. Sulking in bed like this all day isn’t going to solve anything. Besides… everyone’s expecting us at the restaurant, and I doubt Byakuya is going to let us skip the meeting.” He grabbed Hajime’s arm and pulled him up, making the other groan. 

“Fine… fine…” Hajime stood and dressed. He winced when the binder dug into the marks from the previous day, but it didn’t seem like Izuru noticed.

After Hajime finished dressing, the two left their cottage. They didn’t see anyone on their way there, and the only ones in the restaurant were Byakuya, Kazuichi, Nagito and Mahiru.

“Ah… good morning.” Mahiru greeted, sounding tired.

“Good morning.” Hajime mumbled back, sitting at a table and staring at the food, not having an appetite.

No one spoke for a long time, even when the others arrived, sans Fuyuhiko as usual. 

“Jeez, why does everyone have such a long face? It looks like you’ve attended two funerals in a row!” Hiyoko finally broke the silence, her tone light. Izuru glared at her.

“That’s pretty much what happened Hiyoko.” His tone was cold, not in the mood for her attitude.

“Still, Teruteru deserved it. He killed Sonia in cold blood, don’t you guys hate him?” The dancer questioned coldly.

“I do.” Kazuichi replied. 

“You are only saying that because he killed Sonia. If it were anyone else you wouldn’t hate him.” Izuru commented with a bit of bitterness in his voice. “Hating Teruteru will do nothing. Monokuma used a weakness of his against him. Teruteru was manipulated by Monokuma. Any one of us could have been manipulated if Monokuma had the right thing to hold against us, if he knew our weaknesses he could use them to get us to commit murder. It’s as simple as that.” 

“So… what do we do about that? I mean, if we could be manipulated so easily, then what do we do?” Nagito asked. 

“We need a plan. We’re all trapped on this island together, and distrusting panicking and being suspicious of one another is going to cause problems.” Byakuya proclaimed. “Working together to try and find a way off this island is top priority. When all of us have a common goal it is easier to work together.”

“I’m sure we all have the same goal. However, the methods of which we go about reaching that goal may contradict. Some might be more desperate than others…” Izuru stated darkly. This seemed to chill everyone to the bone.

“Still, being suspicious of each other isn’t going to get us anywhere. We’re all just going to be walking on eggshells around each other out of fear. We all have weaknesses yes, but we shouldn’t let them drive us to kill!” Hajime shouted, determination lacing his tone.

“Plus, if someone were to kill, there’s no way they’d get away with it. It would only be them nailing shut their own coffin.” Izuru continued. “Working together to find a _peaceful_ way off this island is important.”

“Exactly.” With Byakuya’s final words, the discussion seemed to be over.

“Um…” The voice was familiar by now, and they all turned to where Monomi was standing the corner. “I’m very proud that you are all going to work together but… getting off this island… it’s… it’s impossible now.” 

“What do you mean?”

“It’s impossible… B-but! The good news is that you now have access to a new island!” Monomi chirped happily.

“ _YOU!_ You’re the one who destroyed my Monobeast?!” Monokuma was suddenly standing behind her, fury radiating from him somehow.

“That’s right! I took care of that nasty thing and-” Before she could finish, Monokuma punched her with all his might, sending her flying. Izuru stared at the fight between the two animals, before standing up and grabbing Hajime’s hand. 

“Huh? Where are we going?”

“Monomi said there was a new island to explore yes? That’s where we’re going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly filler since I had a busy day and wasn't able to write much.


	13. The second island

The second island was just as large as the first, making Izuru more curious about how there couldn’t be anyone else despite all this space. He decided not to think about it for the time being and investigate.

The first place was a large building, it seemed somewhat familiar. Chiaki was there, looking around the building.

“What… is this place?” Hajime asked. 

“I’m not sure… but doesn’t it look like some kind of ancient ruin?” The gamer suggested. Izuru agreed but something felt… off.

“That’s true… but something feels off don’t you think?” Hajime questioned. 

“That’s true… it feels very mysterious. There’s something special about this.” Chiaki looked up at the building, as if staring at it would make it reveal the answers. “I'm going to explore it a little longer. You can go somewhere else.” The brothers were a bit surprised, and didn’t move for a moment.

“Well? Get going!” With a puffy face the girl ordered them, in a rather out of character fashion. 

“We’ll go, just don’t go back to sleep OK? We’re counting on you.” Hajime seemed confident in his words, and Chiaki smiled back at him.

“I’ll do my best.” Chiaki made them leave then, forcing the brothers to find another place to investigate. 

The next place was a library, with so many books Izuru could almost jump for joy at the thought of being able to read all of them. Tearing his eyes away from the books Izuru spotted some statues of Usami laying on the floor, completely broken, and had seemed to have been replaced on their pedestals with Monokuma statues.

“To have such a large library, but no one around… this island is just as deserted as the rest.” Peko mumbles as they approach her. 

“It’s expected… I doubt that Monomi and Monokuma would allow us to have any other interaction besides each other, even on a new island…” Izuru replies. Peko sighs in agreement. The brothers walk over to Byakuya who was pouring over the books there. 

“Interesting… I was not expecting this place to have such a large library…” The heir muttered.

“Why would this place even need a library? I mean, you mentioned this was a resort before right? So why would people want to study on vacation?” Hajime asked. 

“You’re all still students so I prepared this library so you can all study in harmony!” Monomi cheered as she suddenly appeared in front of them.

“ _You_ prepared the library?” Izuru asked, disbelievingly.

“Of course! I want my students to learn and be happy! Just because this is a field trip doesn’t mean you can’t study.” 

“Why are you acting like you’re our teacher? I swear, I understand you less than I understand Monokuma, at least he’s obvious about his motives. I don’t even know what you want from us!” Hajime yelled at the rabbit.

“That is… well… um… you see… Bye-bye!” The rabbit vanished from sight.

“Aaaand she left once things got awkward for her.” Izuru commented dryly. 

“Forget the rabbit, look at this. It’s a tourist brochure for the island.” Byakuya suddenly shoved a piece of paper into Hajime’s hands. Hajime looked at the paper curiously, then frowned.

“I… can’t read anything other than Japanese.” Hajime muttered, sounding embarrassed. Izuru sighed and took the paper from him.

“I’ll read it.” Izuru looked at the pamphlet and scanned it for a moment, his brows furrowing before he began to read.

“ **Jabberwock Island is a small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, a paradise of everlasting summer filled with natural beauty. Jabberwock comprises one small central island and a group of five islands surrounding it. The resort was developed around the outer islands, and a magnificent administration building was built on the central island. The lobby of the administration building houses a statue representing the island… The only way to move from island to island is by ferry.** ” His words hung heavy in the air, chilling Hajime down to the bone.

“OK, first off, on the central island there’s not administration building, the only thing there is the statues that turned into the Monobeasts. Second, if the only way to move from island to island is by ferry, then why the hell are there bridges?” Hajime’s tone was angry, and disbelieving. 

“I highly doubt they did some… redecorating on the main island so that there’s only a statue, and that they’d do something as risky as build giant bridges between the islands.” Byakuya said sternly. “If that’s the case then perhaps…”

“We’re not on Jabberwock island at all.” Izuru finished. “Someone fabricated this whole thing to make us think this was Jabberwock island. The question is, where is there a series of five islands surrounding a smaller one that could be used as a substitute. There are obviously five bridges, guarded by the Monobeasts, so it’s unlikely they lead to nowhere.”

“Um… maybe they made artificial islands? Or… this is a piece of regular land and they flooded it?” Hajime suggested, knowing his idea sounded stupid.

“I… highly doubt that. But to my knowledge there are no islands that match this description.” Izuru muttered, mostly to himself. Hajime could almost see the cogs working in his brother’s brain, and he knew that Izuru was in, what he liked to call, ‘Thinking Mode’. Thinking Mode could last from anywhere to a few minutes to a few hours. 

“Artificial islands? My, what clever thinking!” A certain bear popped up in front of them at that moment, breaking Izuru out of his thoughts.

“And now _you’re_ here.” Hajime groaned.

“But really, such a huge feat could only be done by ‘those guys’.” The bear said, chuckling.

“‘Those guys’?” Hajime asked.

“You know, that big organization that you guys were worrying about earlier. What a fearsome group those guys are…” 

“Hold on, what are you talking about?!” Hajime yelled at the bear.

“Oops, said too much, gotta go!” Going under the floorboards Monokuma’s words hung in the air. 

“That stupid bear… He’s just messing with us…” Izuru wasn’t sure if he should believe if Monokuma was lying or if the bear was telling the truth… 

Rubbing his temples, feeling a headache building, Hajime grabbed his brother’s hand and left the library, walking quickly over to the next building, which was a pharmacy. 

There was only one person inside, Mikan, and she was pouring over the medicines on the shelves.

“Eeee!” The nurse squealed out, making the brother’s jump a bit.

“Mikan? Are you OK?” The shorter twin asked, looking very concerned. 

“I’m just so excited! I couldn’t help yelling. I get so happy whenever someone talks to me. Until now... everyone always either thought I was gross or simply hated me…” Those words made Izuru feel pity for Mikan. Hajime could kind of relate to what Mikan felt, but wasn’t about to say it aloud.

“This pharmacy is pretty well stocked though… I don’t know what most of these are for but it’s a good thing we have them I guess.” Hajime commented curiously.

“Um... now that I have access to this much medicine, I think I can take care of most wounds and illnesses... Hee hee... when you are not feeling well, come to me, okay? I'll give you lots of shots... Lots and lots and loooooots of shots!” The last sentence Mikan spoke was said with an almost sinister tone. 

“No thank you.” Izuru said quickly, grabbing Hajime’s wrist and dragging him away. If there was one thing Izuru hated with all of his being, it was needles, and just the thought of getting shots was enough to make him shudder.

The diner was the next place, and it made Izuru curious. Was there actual food there, or was it just for show? Entering, the two saw Fuyuhiko sitting in a booth.

“Oh great, _you’re_ here. Can’t you see I’m eating? Get out of here shitheads.” The yakuza cursed. 

“Fuyuhiko, you’re here? How did you find out about the island being open?” Hajime questioned. Fuyuhiko, who already looked like he was in a bad mood, got even angrier.

“I just happened to hear it from someone as I was walking around! Let me eat dammit!” Izuru looked to see what the yakuza was eating, and saw a hamburger and fries. He supposed it was a common thing for diners, especially since this one seemed to be modeled after an American diner.

“Who did you run into?” Izuru pressed.

“Who the fuck cares?! It doesn’t involve you!” Fuyuhiko stood as he said this, putting the burger down.

“.... It does involve us though. I don't know what’s on your mind, but... The fact remains that we're all in the same situation. Stuck here on this island together. And that's not all. There's no one else on this island but us. We have no choice but to work together. I'm sure you know that as well as the rest of us... So, why... Why are you avoiding us?!”

“Heh, it’s not like I’m avoiding you guys ‘cause you’re special or anything… I decided a long time ago to not rely on anyone.” The blond replied.

“Huh?” Hajime was confused at what Fuyuhiko meant.

“Not even on the Kuzuryuu family... I'm going to go on living without depending on their power...Oh, don't get me wrong. I’m yakuza through and through. It's not like I hate the idea of inheriting leadership of the family or anything. It's just that... I got a point to make. I’m gonna prove that I can do things alone, without relying on anyone.” 

“And if you run into something you can’t do on your own?” Izuru asked.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

“That’s going to get you in trouble. Only relying on people, and interacting with people when you need something from them is a good way to get yourself killed.” Fuyuhiko looked like he was about to say something but before he could, Hajime ran out of the diner, dragging Izuru behind him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Why do you keep messing with him?” The shorter of the two asked.

“It’s fun. By this point, if he gives in and tries to fight me again, I win, and he knows that.” Izuru stated, looking smug. Hajime let out a loud groan of despair and buried his face in his hands. 

“Let’s just go, before you try and piss off Monokuma or something…” Izuru snorted at that and followed his brother towards the beach. Suddenly, the two of them heard a loud scream. They ran to the source, which was Ibuki.

“This is bad this is bad this is bad this is bad” Ibuki stuttered.

“Ibuki, what’s wrong?!” Hajime yelled, concern lacing his voice.

“this is so bad so bad that ibuki forgot to capitalize her lines” Izuru had no idea what she was talking about but he had a feeling she was breaking some kind of wall.

“Ibuki, calm down and tell us what’s going on.”

“The killings! The killings started again!” The musician screamed and pointed. The brother’s followed her finger to see Akane and Nekomaru fighting. 

Akane was trying to hit Nekomaru with a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which were blocked.

“You rely too much on speed! Your punches are too soft!” Nekomaru yelled as he dodged another one of Akane’s attacks. “The way you apply your raw strength is no good! You were given an incredibly flexible body, and you’re throwing it away!”

“Shut up! None of this stuff matters if I win! All I have to do is win!” The gymnast screamed back.

“Oh? You think you can take me? DON’T... BE... ABSUUUUUUUUUUUUUURD!!” With a loud yell Nekomaru punched Akane in the stomach, making her fly backwards and hit the sand with a ‘thud’. 

“How about it, do you understand now?” Nekomaru asked Akane, and Hajime had to wonder if she even heard him.

“It’s over! The battle's been won with Nekomaru Nidai's killer technique, the Super Body Blow! That means instant death! At the very most, she has 5 more minutes to live!” Ibuki squealed out in horror. Izuru was about to deny that by saying that the body discovery announcement hadn’t aired but Nekomaru spoke before he could.

“Akane, this is as far as your strength will take you. You cannot even win against a mere coach.” The coach said nonchalantly.

“Nekomaru, what the hell? Me and Izuru have trained with you before but you never got that rough with us!” Hajime was amazed at just how… brutal, Nekomaru was.

“Hmph, if I wasn’t that rough she would have never backed down. You both know your own limits and know when to quit, she doesn’t.” It made sense, Akane was the kind of person to never give up, even when she was far out of her league. 

“Why were you guys training in the first place?” Izuru asked.

“H...He seemed like a strong dude... and I couldn't hold myself anymore... I thought if I didn't have a good fight soon I'd lose my mind... Feh. And I lost.” Akane got up slowly, mumbling under her breath. 

“Oh she’s alive!” Ibuki noted.

“Heh, of course she is. She’s too strong to die after a love tap like that.” Nekomaru commented, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Hmm… if training doesn’t count as violence on the island…” Izuru wondered out loud. “Do you think Peko is still at the library?”

“Izuru no. You’ve only had a year of kendo training, that is not _nearly_ enough to hold your own against Peko!” Hajime wasn’t about to let his brother get his ass kicked by Peko, especially because he knew that Izuru would sulk about it later if/when he lost.

The two decided to enter the beach house, finding Kazuichi in there. Hajime felt like it was like a celebrity’s beach house, or something that belonged in some kind of movie. There was a refrigerator with various drinks in it, water, canned coffee, and other kinds of sports drinks, most having an unhealthy color to them. Izuru was happy to note there was his favorite drink in there, and he made a mental note to hoard as many as he could. 

There was a closet, as well as a shower room that seemed to be out of order. 

“This place is pretty fancy huh? Our own private beach house on a private beach! Nothing like this ‘beaches’ in the city, with all that trash and rubble.” Kazuichi commented. 

“True, but we’re the only ones here.” Hajime said dryly. “Isn’t _every_ beach here private?” 

“Aw, come on man, did you have to say that? I’m already depressed enough as it is.” The mechanic moaned out. “But, to lighten the mood, how about we have a swim later? That’d be great! Swimming in such a gorgeous ocean is the best!” 

Hajime was about to protest, saying that he didn’t like swimming that much, mainly because somehow his swimming binder had vanished when he’d checked their luggage, but Kazuichi continued to talk without him.

“Hey, you’d think the girls’d come too? Ooh, I wonder what kind of swimsuits they’d wear?” The mechanic had wide eyes, and had a dreamy look on his face. Then he seemed to get depressed. “It’d… be nice if Miss Sonia was still here… I’d invite her but…”

“It’s no use thinking about the ‘what-ifs’. It’s happened, and all you can do is try to enjoy yourself, maybe even twice as much now, for her sake. Have fun for yourself and her.” Izuru, truthfully, was just repeating something he read in a manga once. 

Kazuichi had a shocked look on his face, and even started tearing up at Izuru’s words. Hajime, however recognized the quote but knew that Izuru meant what he was saying.

“Hey man… thanks…” Kazuichi mumbled, wiping his eyes. “Let’s go swimming after this yeah? Just the three of us!”

“You can’t!” Monomi yelled out as she appeared right next to Hajime, making him let out a yell.

“What-what do you mean?”

“It’s forbidden to change in the beach house!” The rabbit explained.

“So it’s not about swimming… just about changing.” Izuru said with a sigh. “You could’ve been more clear.”

“Well, you ain’t stopping me! We’ll just change at the hotel, then come here! When life gives you lemons, you make Limoncello!” Kazuichi seemed determined, but Izuru couldn’t help but feel like there was something wrong with what he said.

“Lemonade. You make lemonade.” Hajime said with an annoyed expression. 

“In any case, you can't break the rules. Besides, it's fine if you want to have fun but don't forget your studies…” As Monomi said this, Monokuma slid up from wherever he was hiding, holding a machine gun and lots of ammo… and he was panting.

“W...Where is it?! Who's breaking the rules?! I'll blow them away right now, no questions asked!” The bear yelled excitedly. 

“W...What the hell are you carrying...?” Hajime asked, not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

“…A machine gun, of course…” The bear was panting heavily, like he was getting off on this. “Shooting down whoever's breaking the rules... that's just common sense, isn't it!” 

“Common sense where?! This isn’t a dictatorship!” Kazuichi yelled out, looking like he wanted to run away.

“Aww... I wanted to shoot it so much... I know that I can't... but I really want to!” The bear’s finger(paw pad?) was on the trigger of the gun, twitching.

“H...Have some self-control!” Monomi retorted, seeing Monokuma’s eagerness.

“I... shall endure. I have an iron will, so I can endure until someone breaks some rules!” The bear finally disappeared, leaving them all to breathe a sigh of relief.

“As you can see, i-i-it’s a very bad idea to break the rules.” The rabbit repeated the bear’s vanishing act.

“…The hell was that all about...? Anyway... They're both really annoying…” Kazuichi mumbled.

“…Yeah. I've gotten really tired all of a sudden.” Hajime rubbed his temples. Between Monokuma, Monomi, and having to keep Izuru from getting into trouble he… wait… He looked around… 

“Where’s my brother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> I'm so sorry this is late. （＞д＜）
> 
> Also, I often use the 'Something Awful' forums for reference about what happens in the game... and I wrote a few lines before realizing that I killed Sonia, and that I'd been writing her dialogue for two paragraphs. Ooops.


	14. Izuru no

“God dammit I cannot leave him alone for five seconds without him getting into shit.” Hajime cursed as he realized that Izuru had left to do something.

“Um… where do you think he ran off to?” Kazuichi asked, noticing how worried Hajime was.

“Well, he either decided to go antagonize Fuyuhiko some more, or he’s getting himself into even worse trouble.” Hajime groaned.

“Maybe check your e-Handbook? I mean, that shows where everyone is right?” The mechanic suggested, biting his lip. 

Hajime blinked and took out the tablet and looked, seeing that Izuru was on the central island, in the park, along with Nagito, Mahiru, Mikan and… Peko.

“OH GODDAMMIT IZURU!” The older twin yelled, rushing out of the beach house, running to the central island, swearing to slap his brother once he got there. 

When he arrived at the central island’s park, he saw Izuru and Peko fighting. Peko was using her bamboo sword, while Izuru had broom, yet was somehow holding his own against Peko. Nagito was standing off to the side, with a smile on his face, Mahiru was taking pictures, and Mikan was staring at the scene with a terrified expression, all while holding a first aide kit.

Hajime was about to yell, until he saw how well his brother was doing. He was blocking every one of Peko’s attacks, but when he tried to attack her, she blocked as well. The two seemed fairly evenly matched until…

“Agh!” Izuru had somehow gotten the upper hand, knocking the sword woman's legs out from underneath her, making her let go of her sword, which Izuru caught effortlessly.

“How in the…?” Was all Hajime could utter. Izuru put the sword and broom down, walking over to Peko and offering his hand to her. Peko took it reluctantly, but gave a small smile.

“I will say, I am impressed. You and I were evenly matched for quite some time.” The silver haired girl praised.

“I just got lucky… There is still much I’ve yet to learn. I would like to train with you again some day.” Giving a small bow, Izuru gave a tiny smile in return. Hajime, snapping out of his shock, walked over to Izuru and grabbed his ear. 

“IZURU HINATA WHAT THE FUCK?!” Izuru winced as Hajime grabbed his ear and yelled. “I look away for two seconds and you run off and go do what I told you not to!” 

“I knew you wouldn’t let me if I asked again… besides, I won didn’t I?” Izuru’s tone was completely calm, as if he didn’t have an angry mother hen of a brother yelling at him.

“That’s not the point. I know you would’ve gotten grumpy if you lost, or you could’ve gotten hurt if you got too cocky.” Hajime puffed out his cheeks angrily. 

“I didn’t though…” Hajime let out a groan at his brother’s words, getting frustrated. 

“It is alright Hajime. Izuru held his own very well. Although he told me he was a beginner, I didn’t hold back. He is a very good swordsman.” Peko explained. Hajime blinked a few times. He knew that his brother was very talented, even their kendo teacher told them that Izuru was a fast learner, and very good at it, but he hadn’t expected him to be _that_ good.

“Izuru is amazing! I got it all on camera too!” Mahiru said happily. 

“Indeed! I’m very impressed by Izuru’s skill. Maybe his talent is something to do with fighting?” Nagito suggested, looking star struck.

“No. I’ve remembered a small bit, and I know that Hajime and I have the same talent, and Hajime isn’t a fighter.” Izuru objected, making Hajime’s eyes widen.

“You remember our talent?” 

“Not our talent, just that we have the same talent. I cannot remember what it is exactly.”

“When did you remember?” Nagito asked.

“This morning. As I was walking around with Hajime I was thinking about things and it just came to me. I didn’t mention anything since I couldn’t remember our actual talent, so I did not think it was relevant.” Izuru replied, making Hajime sigh.

“Well, at least your memories are starting to come back… hopefully that means mine will come back too.” The shorter of the twins muttered.

“Hopefully. Still, we’ve explored the entirety of the second island right? So we should-”

“Ah, here you are. I was wondering where you guys were.” Everyone turned to where the sudden voice came from and saw Chiaki standing near the entrance of the park. “Um... I'm calling everyone right now. Can you come to the ruins on the second island, ASAP? You can, can't you? Come quickly. Hurry up.” With that, the gamer ran off. 

“I wonder what she found…” Nagito mused, running off after the girl, with the other in tow.

When they arrived at the ancient ruin, the others were there, waiting. 

“What is this building? It’s so run down…” Nekomaru muttered.

“It looks like it’s an ancient ruin… no, it probably _is_ an ancient ruin.” Peko said, staring at the building curiously.

“Hey guys… doesn’t this kind of look like a school? It’s not just me right?” Mahiru had a point, it did look like a school, a very familiar one at that.

“This building looks just like Hope’s Peak.” Izuru spoke up, making everyone stare at the building, and they seemed to all come to the same conclusion.

“So uh… what’d you find Chiaki?” Kazuichi asked, breaking the tense silence.

“If it’s something stupid I’ll kill you.” Fuyuhiko threatened. Izuru glared at the yakuza, but Fuyuhiko only glared back until Izuru looked away. 

“Why are you even here? I thought you weren’t going to rely on anyone?” Izuru’s words made Fuyuhiko grit his teeth, then calm down a bit.

“That gamer chick can be very persistent, she wouldn’t stop bugging me until I came with her.” 

“Anyway! Chiaki, did you find a way off this island or something?” Ibuki asked excitedly.

“I don’t think so but… there’s something really weird about this building… it’s… better if you check it out for yourselves.” Was all that Chiaki said, making everyone confused. “Try clearing off all that dust and those vines… you’ll see what I mean.” 

Everyone, deciding they had nothing to lose, did as they were told. Once the dust and vines were cleared away, there stood a giant, metal door.

“Huh? This… looks like it’s out of a sci-fi movie! What’s it doing on an ancient ruin?” Hajime was shocked, only able to stare at the large door. 

“This mark on the door… it’s looks like the word for ‘Future’…” Izuru commented, running his hand over the marking. 

“Who cares about the stupid marking? We should just open it!” Fuyuhiko yelled. 

“There’s no handle though…” Hajime mumbled.

“I think that's an LCD panel next to the door... Maybe that has something to do with opening it?” Mahiru said, walking over to the panel and inspecting it.

“That must be it. We just need to put in a password and the door will open!” Fuyuhiko replied, looking surprised.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a genius. But, so what? We don't have a single hint. It would be impossible to figure out the password. Or are you saying that what's impossible for the average person is easy with your Yakuza superpowers? Impressive!” Hiyoko said mockingly. Fuyuhiko looked annoyed.

“We could at least try guessing. We might get lucky.” Fuyuhiko retorted. 

“That’s probably not a good idea… look at that thing next to the door, doesn’t it look like a gun?” Chiaki warned.

“It _is_ a gun. I have a feeling if we get it wrong we’ll be shot…” Izuru responded, walking over to the LCD panel. “…I’m gonna try it anyway.”

“IZURU NO!” Hajime yelled.

“Izuru yes.” Izuru punched in a few random numbers into the panel. 

*BANG**BANG**BANG* 

Izuru managed to step to the side, avoiding the bullets as they flew past him. “That answers that.” Hajime ran over to his brother grabbing his ear and pulling him away.

“Izuru I swear to god one of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack.” Izuru said nothing in response.

“Anyway… it’s definitely weird… why would a door that looks like it’s out of a science fiction movie, be on an ancient ruin? It seems… special.” Chiaki wondered.

“The question is, what’s special about it?” Kazuichi asked the million dollar question there. 

“Um……………” 

“Um……………” A certain bear and rabbit popped up at the same time, making noises of confusion.

“Nothing to say?” Peko asked the two coldly.

“Hey! What do you guys know about this building?” Akane demanded.

“I… don’t know anything.” Monomi’s tone was concerned, though what she was concerned about was a mystery.

“I have no clue either…” Monokuma agreed, sounding annoyed.

“Y-you guys should just collect the Hope Shards for now…” Monomi reminded gently.

“You’re saying you seriously don’t know?! And you expect us to believe that?!” Kazuichi accused.

“This door was even hidden under a thick layer of dust... That was also your work, wasn't it?” Hiyoko asked

“Do you mean they hide it on purpose? That does make sense…” Mikan agreed. This seemed to set Hiyoko off.

“Will you do me a favor and stop talking back like an equal? Know your place, trash-girl.” Izuru clenched his fists at Hiyoko’s words, ready to slap the dancer for her attitude. 

“Aaah! I’m s-sorry!” The nurse stuttered. Before Hiyoko could say anything else Nekomaru interrupted.

“Perhaps... the fact that the island's residents aren't around has to do with this heavily armored door? Could this place be, in essence, a shelter where the residents are hiding?” 

“If that’s the case… are we in danger too?” Mahiru asked, worry in her voice.

“Hmmm... Lots of possibilities are crossing my mind... But, it doesn't seem we'll be able to confirm them right now. This door is incredibly sturdy, you see. I don't mean that just in the physical sense. Its very essence is the same.” Monokuma replied. 

“What do you mean?” Akane asked.

“I mean, Monomi and I can go anywhere on the island… except inside there.” The bear said sadly.

“Eh? You can’t go inside either?” Monomi asked, shocked. Suddenly, Monokuma shot her with some kind of blue light coming out of his paw.

“Enough with your useless remarks!” The bear yelled.

“Aaagh! Being hit with a meteor fist is bad for my health!” Monomi cried as she was thrown backwards.

‘…what even is going on right now?’ Hajime thought to himself. 

“Well, then. Now that I've silenced my little sister with my fantastic Pegasus Fist, let's continue... This is Jabberwock's mystery, you see. A mystery even me and Monomi can't solve. Which is why I have high expectations from you bastards! I fully expect you to overcome this hurdle yourselves!” As Monokuma spoke, Izuru felt a headache coming on from all the past days events.

“Heh, that’s easy. All we have to do is ask. Remember what the tanuki told us the other day?” Fuyuhiko commented.

“About there being a traitor, or even _traitors_ are these ‘World Ender’ people?” Izuru asked, his voice laced with malice.

“Just like the name says, they ended the world.” Those words made everyone freeze in place.

“Ended the world?!!” Mikan squealed in fear.

“This is not an exaggeration or a metaphor. These guys really did destroy the world. So that title, ‘World Ender’, is actually very appropriate, don't you think?”

“Then these people are... terrorists of some kind?” Peko asked, her stoic face faltering. 

“Terrorists, huh...? I guess you could call them that. But, "terrorists" is the title given to the losers. Once they win, they become known as ‘heroes’. And so... I guess these guys are heroes. They're heroes who destroyed the world!” Monokuma explained.

‘History is written by the victors…’ Izuru thought dryly. He supposed if this ‘World Ender’ organization was real, and if they had destroyed the world, they would describe themselves as heroes.

“Stop being dumb! There’s no way such an organization could exist!” Mahiru protested. “Are-are you trying to say that they’re the one who put us here or something?”

“‘World Ender’… Does this mean that Monokuma and Monomi are also part of that organization?” Nekomaru asked, looking afraid.

“Who knows? I can only say one thing… Both the true identity of the traitor, and whoever brought you bastards to this island… It's all part of the World Enders’ plan.” Monokuma continued.

“… I don’t believe you. Until we have concrete proof of this so called ‘World Ender’ and that they’re the ones who put us here, we won’t believe you. If all we have to go by is your word, how do you expect us to believe you?” Izuru said coldly, staring at Monokuma with malice clear on his face.

“Sigh... I did my best to tell you all that, and you're calling me a liar?! Grr... When I'm treated like that, strange things happen to all sorts of regions in my body! Anyway, it's the truth! World Ender are this island's final boss! And in addition, at least one of their members has managed to sneak into your group! That's why you must find out who it is... and kill them!” 

“That’s enough!” Monomi yelled in response to Monokuma’s goading. 

“You're being too loud again, Monomi! Punishment awaits little sisters who don't obey their brothers!” Monokuma grabbed Monomi by the ears, ignoring her protests, and dragged her away.

“… ” Hajime couldn’t speak. When he got his voice back, all he could say was: “What… just happened?”

“Did anyone get any of that?” Kazuichi asked, looking lost.

“Not a bit.” Izuru replied.

Chiaki yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes. “In any case… it’s getting late, we should head back for now and sleep…” 

“I… guess you’re right…” Hajime replied.

“It is getting dark. See you guys tomorrow then…” Mahiru said as she walked off. Everyone followed in suit. 

Back in their cottage, Hajime let out a yell of frustration and punched the wall.

“Dammit! All we got from the new island was more mysteries… What are we supposed to do?” Hajime yelled.

“We wait, and observe. That’s all we can do. Once we have enough information, we act.” Was his brother’s only reply.

“And that whole thing about a ‘World Ender’ shit? Was that true?” 

“…I don’t know. What I do know, is that we need to be careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, uploaded on time!


	15. Hair raising fun

Hajime woke up that morning to a severe pain in his stomach. He let out a groan of annoyance and sat up in bed. He realized that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday, which explained the pain. Izuru was sound asleep next to him, so Hajime moved slowly out of the bed as to not wake him up.

As Hajime got ready, the Monokuma morning announcement aired, waking Izuru. 

“I think I found something more annoying to wake up to than that stupid alarm clock we had back at home.” The red eyed boy moaned as he slid out of bed. Hajime snorted. 

“To be honest, even mom’s nagging would be better than Monokuma’s voice.” He replied. When Izuru was ready the two left their cottage, running into Gundam on their way out.

“Morning Gundam.” Hajime greeted.

“Waste not my time with your drivel... human.” The breeder replied.

“What the...?” 

“Today, the wind carries the wandering souls of the substantial one and the pretentious one... What destiny awaits them? The warm bosom of the Holy Mother, or the flames of Gehenna? You ought offer them a prayer, son of man. Who knows... it might just save their souls. Heh heh heh... Well, then. I am going ahead…” With a speech typical of himself, Gundam walked away, leaving behind a confused Hajime, and a slightly annoyed Izuru.

Walking into the lobby of the hotel, the brothers encountered Mahiru and Chiaki.

“Good morning Mahiru.” 

“Morning…” The photographer sounded a bit depressed.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Hajime asked her with concern. 

“Ah... I'm sorry. I was thinking about Teruteru. Monokuma said Teruteru's motive was boring, but... That's just not right! I mean, he was worried about his one and only mother! About his family!” The girl explained. Hajime could understand… if his family was in danger, he’d probably do something about it too… though he wasn’t sure if he’d kill for it.

“You’re right though… that doesn’t mean I approve of what he did though…” He mumbled in reply. 

“He did something foolish because of Monokuma’s manipulations. However, in the end it was his choice to kill, despite Monokuma’s manipulation. While this gives him an explanation for his actions, it does not give him an excuse.” Izuru added, playing with a piece of his hair absentmindedly. Mahiru noticed this and seemed to remember something.

“Oh! That’s right, Ibuki mentioned something to me yesterday. She said she wanted all the girls to get together and do fun stuff like baking and doing hair. She also mentioned that we should invite you since you have really long hair.” Izuru looked surprised at this.

“Me?”

“Well duh! You, Nagito and Kazuichi are the only boys with long hair, but yours is the longest.” As Mahiru said that, Izuru looked away.

“I don’t… like people touching my hair.” Hajime noticed his brother’s discomfort and decided to butt in.

“Hey, could I come too? I know how to braid hair pretty well.” Mahiru was about to decline but she stopped. She could see how close the brothers were, and how Izuru seemed to be less cold when Hajime was around.

“Sure! That’d be fun. You and Izuru are the only boys invited though.” With that Mahiru walked off to the restaurant. Izuru turned to his brother and gave a small smile, which Hajime returned.

Everyone was up in the restaurant, sitting around, looking concerned. 

“Hajime! Izuru! Right on time. What do you guys think?” Kazuichi asked as soon as they got up the stairs.

“About what?” Hajime asked, genuinely confused.

“About that ‘World Ender’ and traitor shit? Did you guys find anything out?” The mechanic asked, making Izuru huff.

“Of course not. It hasn’t even been a full day, and we were sleeping most of that time.” Izuru replied. 

“Same here…” Mahiru agreed.

“Besides, I could not sleep well. It must have been because of all the cryptic stories we heard.” Peko added.

“B...But... is it really true...? Is there really a traitor among us...?” Mikan asked timidly. 

“I doubt there is any need to worry about a traitor. If worst comes to worst, there are at least 13 of us against at most 2 of them. Even if one of them is someone like Nekomaru, we could overpower him if necessary.” Izuru answered.

“I am not the traitor, but he is right. I’m merely a coach, so a true athlete like some of you would easily beat me.” Said coach replied.

“Hey… Monokuma said something about there maybe being two traitors, so what if the traitors are you guys? You’re brothers right so it’d make sense for you guys to be working together.” Hiyoko suggested, looking right at Hajime and Izuru.

“Eh? They’re the traitor?” Kazuichi asked.

“Hold on, Izuru and I aren’t the traitors!” Hajime protested.

“If you were the traitors you’d totally say that!” Hiyoko yelled.

“If we were the traitors? Then what? What would you do?” Izuru asked, looking serious. “Even if you accuse us, we wouldn’t admit it if we were. So what is the point if you have no proof? Accusations are simply that, accusations, they hold no value.” 

“Well… I…” Hiyoko stuttered.

“That’s enough, arguing about this is getting us nowhere. Since no one has any new clues, the only thing we can do right now is wait and see what happens. So, with that said, let’s eat.” Byakuya declared, digging into his own plate of food.

After a few minutes however… 

“Hey, do you guys smell somethin’?” Akane asked curiously.

“What do you mean?” Hajime questioned.

“Something stinks. You know, something smells like a late-night snack, or like a hostess club after closing time.” She replied.

“How’d we know?! What kinda rough lifestyle’ve you been living?!” Kazuichi yelled out.

“But... now that she mentions it, something does smell. It's like sewage, or raw garbage…” Peko added.

“Kyahahahaha! I know! It's the stink from big bro Nekomaru's mouth!” Hiyoko mocked.

“GAHAHAHA! Ya sure got me!” The coach agreed.

“No, it's not Nekomaru. This smell is coming from…” Akane looked around before her eyes landed on a certain dancer. “It's coming from you, Hiyoko.”

“H-huh?” 

“Holy… she’s right, you reek Hiyoko!” Kazuichi agreed. 

“I… I… WAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Hiyoko suddenly started sobbing loudly.

“Wh-whoa? She’s crying?” Ibuki said.

“You guys, haven’t you heard of being gentle!” Mahiru scolded. 

“Hiyoko, have you even been taking showers?” Akane asked. Hiyoko sniffled.

“No…” Was her answer.

“Why?” Hajime asked, amazed that the whole time they’d been here the girl hadn’t been bathing.

“It-it’s not my fault… I can’t tie my kimono’s obi by myself!” She replied, before sobbing loudly again.

“H-hey, Hiyoko, don’t cry. If it’s just about the obi, I can help you tie it.” Mahiru’s words seemed to calm the dancer down a little.

“R-really?”

“I don’t know any of the fancy knots, but... if you want, I'll even teach you how to tie it yourself.” Hiyoko sniffled and hugged Mahiru thanking her. “Hiyoko! You don’t need to hug me like that!” But Mahiru didn’t sound too angry.

“If you wish to learn some of the more complex knots, I know some.” Izuru put in. 

“Ew! I don’t want your help!” ‘Aaaand she’s back to normal.’ Hajime thought as Hiyoko yelled at his brother. 

The day passed by slowly, around noon, Ibuki approached the brothers who were playing a card game with Nagito(Who was winning).

“IIIIIIIZZZZYYYY HAJIMEME!” The musician called. “Mahiru said that you guys agreed to do the hair thing! So c’mon!” The brothers looked at each other and sighed as they were pulled by Ibuki to the hotel restaurant. 

Peko, Mahiru, Hiyoko, Chiaki and Mikan were waiting there, one of the table’s was piled with a bunch of hair ties, pins, brushes, water bottles, and various hair supplies.

“You guys really decided to go all out on this huh?” Hajime remarked nervously.

“Yup! When you do something you go all out!” Akane yelled in reply. Izuru was standing near the stairs, looking ready to run away at the first sign of one of them trying to touch his hair.

“So… who wants to get their hair done first?” Mahiru asked.

“Me! Me! Pick Ibuki!” Ibuki yelled, looking excited. “I want Izzy to do my hair! He’s a good cook and fighter so I wanna see if he’s good at doing hair too!” She suddenly ran over to Izuru, grabbed his hand and dragged him over to a table.

“…I don’t know how good I’ll do though… I only ever really did Hajime’s hair and my mother’s sometimes… but that was awhile ago.” 

“C’mon! At least try!” As Ibuki said that she forced a brush into his hands, leaving him pretty much no choice.

Izuru took the ties out of Ibuki’s signature horns out, letting the hair fall down her back.

“Your hair is brittle and dry… Do you use some kind of conditioner?” He asked her.

“Nopers!” 

“You should, with all the hair dye that you use, and all the products, you’re going to go bald.”

“Eeeh? Ibuki doesn’t want to go bald!” 

“Then use conditioner, and maybe ease up on the hair dye and products.” As they spoke, Izuru used the ties and pins to put her hair into a flower braid.

“Oh my gosh! This sooooo pretty! It’s not my usual style but it’s adorable!” The musician cheered. 

“Can I go next?” Chiaki asked, a curious look on her face. Izuru nodded and let Chiaki sit in the spot that Ibuki just left. He put her hair in a fishtail braid. He couldn’t help but notice how soft and smooth her hair was compared to Ibuki’s. 

Everyone, sans Hajime and Mahiru, whose hair was too short, got their hair done by Izuru. Akane had her’s done in two braids like Peko’s was, Peko had one long braid down her back, and Hiyoko had a bun. 

“OK! It’s Izzy’s turn!” Ibuki shouted, skipping towards Izuru. 

“A-ah, I’ll do it. I’ve braided his hair in the past when I was bored.” Hajime cut in.

“Plus, I only trust him to touch my hair.” Izuru added.

“Whaaaat? You don’t trust us Izzy?”

“It’s not that… I think it’s just because he has personal space issues y’know? Like… he doesn’t know us that well so he doesn’t feel comfortable with us touching him… I think.” Chiaki explained. Izuru nodded in agreement.

“So, I’ll do his hair OK? You guys can choose the style though.” Hajime said with a small smirk on his face.

“Hold on, I never agreed to-” 

“Shut it. This is revenge for scaring the crap out of me so many times yesterday.” Hajime demanded. Izuru sighed in defeat and sat down in front of his brother 

“Oooh! What about those braid things that Princess Leia has in Star Wars?!” Akane suggested. Hajime smirked. 

“That’s perfect.” He got to work. In the end, the braids were a bit messy, but it still served it’s purpose to make Izuru pout. 

“Happy?” He asked. 

“Extremely.” 

The two hung out with the girls a few more hours with the girls until the Monokuma announcement aired. With that, the brothers went back to their cottage, feeling relaxed.

 

_________________________________________

_“S-stop! Don’t do it! Please… put the knife down… I’m sorry. Please, I’m sorry!”_  
_“… You’re only sorry that you were found out. I won’t forgive you.”_  
_“No! W-we didn’t know! We didn’t know that they were going to… to…”_  
_“Liar… I don’t believe you. Even if you’re telling the truth, it’s still your fault.”_  
_“NO! STOP PLEASE! IZURU STOP!”_  
_A flash of silver. A scream and a thud. A woman screaming in agony as blood poured from the wound in her stomach. The screams stopped as the knife pierced her throat, replaced by gurgles… A man yelled in rage and charged. The knife was driven into the man’s heart, killing him instantly. Only silence was left._  
**_I won’t forgive. I won’t forgive. I won’t forgive. It’s their fault. I won’t let them get away with this. I won’t._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm a nice guy, I'll provide you all with a hint as to who Izuru killed in that last part: bd yaxyrj vjman h yjman  
>  The key is Caesar 9.  
> I ask you all not to share it with everyone once you crack the code though.


	16. Author's note

OK. So this isn't an update but my computer has been messing up lately, so I won't be able to update for another few days. Sorry about this.


	17. Dusk

“Izuru! _please stop…_ ”

“Izuru! _it hurts please… I was only trying to help…_ ”

“IZURU!” The sound of his brother’s voice suddenly woke Izuru from his nightmare. He opened his eyes and saw Hajime standing above him, his face wrinkled with worry.

“Huh…?” Was the only thing he could mumble, his mind still delirious from sleep.

“Izuru, what’s wrong? You were making noises in your sleep…” Hajime replied. “And you were crying too.”

“Oh… it was just a nightmare… I don’t even really remember what it was.” He lied. He remembered the dream vividly, but he wasn’t about to tell his brother that. “What time is it?”

“The morning announcement just went off so it’s about 7. I got out of bed when I heard the announcement and you were crying in your sleep… You haven’t had a nightmare in years Izuru… well, I guess with all the shit that’s going on, I guess it makes sense.” As Hajime said that Izuru sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. 

When they went to the restaurant Izuru immediately went over to the coffee, not saying a word. He wasn’t sure if the dream he’d had last night was just a dream or… a memory. 

“Izuru? Are you OK? You don’t look so good…” Izuru looked up from his cup and saw Nagito sitting across from him. 

“I’m fine.” Izuru replied curtly. Nagito crossed his arms, looking skeptical. 

“If you say so…” The white haired boy said softly. At that moment, Hajime came over with two plates of food. 

“What’re you guys talking about?” He asked.

“I was wondering if you guys would like to come to the beach. Kazuichi found a sword, I think it was a sword, but he wants to use it to break open coconuts.” Nagito explained. “He wants to break coconuts open with everyone. I think he said something about swimming too… think he just wants an excuse to see the girls in swimsuits again.” Izuru snorted at that. It did seem like something Kazuichi would do.

“I dunno… I don’t really have… anything that’d be good for swimming. I thought I had a good swimsuit but it disappeared from my suitcase…” Hajime mumbled. 

“Oh… yeah, Hajime, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that, when Byakuya was doing that body check thing you mentioned something about a-” Izuru cleared his throat, getting Nagito’s attention, and looked around the room. No one had heard what they were talking about, but Izuru didn’t want him saying anything in front of everyone… or at all really.

“O-oh. Sorry. I’ll shut up.” The lucky student replied. “But uh, you don’t have to swim! You can just crack open coconuts with us and sit in the beach.” 

“That sounds fun actually. Izuru, you should come too. I mean, it’d be good for you.” Hajime said after thinking for a moment.

“I don’t see how it would.” Izuru responded, staring at his cup.

“Bro, we both know that you need to get some sun on you. You look like a vampire with how pale you are. Besides, it’ll be a good chance to gather those Hope Shards so we can get off this island.” Izuru thought for a moment after his brother finished speaking. He let out a slightly annoyed sigh.

“Fine, but I’m not swimming. I’ll just sit on the beach with Hajime.” 

Two hours later, everyone, sans Fuyuhiko as usual, were at the beach. The sword that Kazuichi had found was actually fake, but still opened coconuts just fine. Most everyone was in their swimsuits, except for Hajime, Izuru, Hiyoko and Byakuya.

“Hey Hiyoko, why aren’t you swimming?” Hajime questioned the dancer curiously.

“It’s more fun to stay on the beach and step on crabs.” She replied. Izuru leaned over to his brother and whispered.

“Seriously, when do you think she’ll move onto cats?” Hajime punched him in the shoulder. 

“Why aren’t you guys swimming? Are you scared of sharks or something?”

“N-no, I just don’t like the swimsuits that Monomi gave us.” Hajime replied. 

“And I don’t like being so exposed.” It was a miracle that Hajime had convinced Izuru to dress as he was. He’d convinced his brother to ditch the suit jacket and switch the pants for regular jeans. 

“Hmph, wimps.” The dancer said as she went back to her previous activities.

Hajime sighed and stared at the others playing the water and building sand castles, a bit jealous. Izuru sensed his brother’s change in mood and got an idea.

“I found these shells earlier.” He said, taking a few shells out of his pocket. They were fairly multicolored, making him curious as to what kind of animal they’d come from. Some were shapes that he’d never seen before, nothing that he’d seen in textbooks or in anything he’d read.

“Whoa… they’re cool!” Hajime exclaimed, taking one of them gently. 

“There might be more around here… want to look for some?” Izuru asked, hoping that this would cheer his brother up.

In the end, the brothers found a lot more seashells, and even helped decorate Gundam’s sand castle with them. Gundam had called the castle a replica of a castle he’d been to in hell, where he’d made the pact with the Four Dark Devas.

Back at their cottage later that day, the brothers were sorting through some of the prizes they’d gotten from the MonoMono machine when the monitor suddenly came to life.

“Ahem, this is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee… Emergency! Emergency! Everyone please hurry over to Jabberwock park! The first students to arrive will be treated to my special curry rice tomorrow!” Monokuma announced before the screen shut off. 

Hajime looked at his brother, who had a slightly annoyed look on his face. 

“What’s he going to do this time?” Izuru grumbled as he stood. Hajime followed suit, and the brothers headed over to the park.

When they arrived, Akane and Byakuya seemed to be arguing.

“I got here first!”

“No, I did.” Izuru pinched the bridge of his nose and tuned the two out. 

“They seriously fell for it?” Hajime wondered aloud.

“Anyone know the scientific term for how you suddenly start feeling hungry when you hear the words "curry rice"?!” Ibuki seemed to have fell for it as well.

“Why are you morons getting so excited over this...? You're giving me a headache.” Fuyuhiko snapped as he entered the park. “Hey! Monokuma, get your two toned ass out here!” The yakuza demanded. As if on cue, the bear obeyed. 

“Hello!” 

“Hey! Monokuma, settle this dispute. Who got here first, myself or Akane?” The heir asked, towering over the bear.

“Hm… well… Let’s just call it a tie. I wasn’t paying attention actually. So you _both_ get my special Monokuma curry!” The bear declared.

“M-Monokuma curry?” Hajime asked, not sure if he wanted to know what was even in it.

“It's a super-delicious curry made with unidentified meat, wilting vegetables and a mysterious rice brand!” Izuru wrinkled his nose as Monokuma explained the ingredients of the dish.

“‘Delicious’ isn’t the first word that comes to mind when hearing those ingredients…” Mahiru remarked. 

“What do you want this time?” Izuru asked the bear curtly, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“You haven’t noticed! God you guys are slow!” The bear remarked. Everyone looked around and eventually their eyes landed on an arcade machine standing next to a giant TV.

“Is that a video game?” Chiaki asked excitedly, running up to it. 

“This… is your next motive!” Monokuma announced.

“A video game… is the motive.” Hajime said, disbelievingly. “You can’t be serious.” 

“What video games are on it?” Chiaki questioned, looking the machine over.

“There's just one game installed, but... it's a jewel of a game. I mean, it's a game I made on my very own!” The bear proclaimed proudly.

“You… made a game.” Hajime could almost physically feel this situation getting more and more stupid as Monokuma went on.

“If that’s the case… then I’ll pass.” Nagito mumbled.

“No, no, no. This is far better than some silly amateur indie game... I made a sequel to a certain legendary game! It's been waiting for one for so long!” 

“A sequel to a what?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Hajime regretted the question. The bear jumped up to a small podium after Hajime spoke.

“Let me formally introduce… ‘Twilight Syndrome Murder Mystery’!” The bear yelled as the TV screen came to life, displaying the home screen of the game.

“Really? That sounds soooo lame. I think games with, like, a professor who solves puzzles or where you collect cute monsters are much better!” Hiyoko complained loudly.

“Don't even joke about that, stupid! We don't need Capcom or Nintendo sueing our asses!”

“Twilight Syndrome… An adventure game series, first published in 1996. Its story revolves around a group of high school girls investigating the veracity of various urban legends… It's also known for its unique vertical-scrolling stages, in which the characters move freely.” Chiaki explained. Izuru had heard of the games before, and how there had been sequels of the game… that weren’t very good.

“Video games are for weaklings! I have no interest in them! Besides... how would I even know about an ancient game from generations ago?!” Nekomaru said, looking bored.

“Technically Nekomaru, video games have been shown to increase reaction times, as well as cognitive abilities. That is mainly action games and possibly platformers.” Izuru put in, staring at the machine dully.

“But aren’t adventure games boring? They’re a pain in the butt!” Hiyoko piped in again.

“Hey, with the budget we get, there’s not much we can do.” Monokuma replied.

Chiaki suddenly sighed. “I was a big fan of the series too… Now I feel like you’ve ruined it.” 

“Your face should be ruined! Ruined with tears of joy at me shining a new light on a forgotten title!” 

“You said this game was the motive. How?” Hajime asked, glaring at the bear.

“You see, this game's theme is "the missing link". Y'know, that old mystery trope? Hidden connections and such.” Monokuma explained.

“What… do you mean?” Mikan whimpered.

“You’ll find out if you play the game!” The bear declared.

“Fine.” Izuru stated, walking over to the machine, but was grabbed by Mahiru.

“What are you doing? Are you really going to give into his trap?” She asked, looking disappointed, reminding Izuru of his grandmother.

“I’m not ‘giving in’. We should all play it right here and now, so we all know this ‘missing link’, and we can discuss it so that we can prevent a killing.” Izuru said, looking Mahiru in the eyes.

“That’s… not a bad idea. If we all know, we can know who has the greatest motive for killing, and either talk to them before they kill, or if they do kill someone, we can know right away.” Nagito agreed.

“No way! What if someone lies about them understanding the motive, and then when they kill we’re totally lost!” Kazuichi announced. Everyone seemed to agree with this, making Izuru sigh.

“Then why don’t we just destroy the machine so no one has a chance to play it?” He suggested.

“No way! If you destroy this machine then I’ll be very, veeeeery sad. Also you’ll be punished. Let’s consider this machine the same as breaking a monitor or a camera. So you can’t destroy it even if you want to!” Monokuma cried out, looking furious.

“Then we just don’t play the game.” Hajime said crossing his arms.

“Gahahaha! That’s a good idea!” Nekomaru agreed, laughing loudly.

“I see... so that is your plan. But, are you sure it's going to work? Having a motive means fortifying one's resolve. A human who has found their resolve, and a human who hasn’t… I don't have to tell you who's the strong one and who's the weak one, do I?” Monokuma mused.

“… W…What do you mean?” Mahiru asked, whimpering.

“Let me give you an example. Suppose someone sneakily plays this game, and decides to go and kill someone else. Getting ahead of the pack can win you the battle... and in this case can save your life!” The bear continued.

“W…What the hell?!” Kazuichi yelled.

“You bastards are all each other's enemies, aren't you? Are you sure you want to give your enemy an advantage? I suggest you give this proper consideration, and if you still decide to ignore this game... well, do as you please. See ya later!” Monokuma finished as he ran out of their view.

“What… just happened?” Hajime mumbled.

“Hey, what are we going to do?” Kazuichi whimpered.

“How should _I_ know? I’m just as confused as you are!” Mahiru yelled back at him.

“Obviously Monokuma is going to use someone’s weakness here against them… we won’t know who that person, or persons, are until we play the game. The simple solution would be not to play it, but I know that’s not going to happen. At least one of us is going to play it out of curiosity. There’s the possibility that Monokuma’s plan will fail, however, this time, the motive might not be as weak as last times, and despite the motive being weak, Teruteru still fell for it. Who’s to say that a stronger motive won’t cause someone to kill? Most of us know nothing about each other, so it’s obvious we will doubt each other. I’ve already suggested a solution to this problem, yet you all refused.” Izuru said, staring at the machine.

“Still… your idea isn’t that good dude. I mean, someone might lie.” Kazuichi mumbled.

“It’s still better than being sitting ducks and having no idea. However, if that is how you feel, then feel free to do as you wish.” As Izuru said that, he walked away. Hajime cursed and ran after his brother.

When he caught up, he grabbed Izuru’s shoulder.

“Bro, what the hell?” Hajime yelled at his brother, confused as to why Izuru was acting even more cold than ever.

“If they’re going to be stubborn, then so be it. I tried to help, to prevent a killing, but they didn’t want to listen, all I can do now is make sure you and I aren’t the victims.” Was the reply he got. 

“Still… you shouldn’t doubt them though. I mean, what if no one takes the bait and doesn’t kill anyone?” Hajime suggested. Izuru sighed and looked away.

“We thought that a killing wouldn’t happen before, and yet it did. As long as Monokuma keeps providing motives, the killings will continue unless we take the proper measures. And no one seems willing to take those measures.” Izuru responded. “I’m not going to let either of us become victims. I know that the two of us wouldn’t commit murder, at least not for one of Monokuma’s dumb motives, but I’m concerned about us being the victims.” 

“That… won’t happen.” 

“Not as long as I have anything to say about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Crawls out from the hell that is shitty internet** I RETURN!  
>  It took me _4_ days to write this chapter due to the internet. But it's finally here.


	18. Tales from the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (WARNING: TRANSPHOBIC SLURS IN THIS CHAPTER, IT'S BRIEF BUT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME.)

“Stupid tranny bitch!” Punch.

“You’re just a lesbian! You ain’t no boy.” Kick.

“You’re just a dumb girl who doesn’t know her damn place!” Hajime whimpered as more punches and kicks were delivered to his face and ribs. He was trying not to scream, but a kick landed on his chest, and another between his legs, making him yell out in pain. 

It seemed like hours before there was a yell of anger, and one of the people attacking him was kicked away. 

“Stay. Away. From my brother.” Hajime looked up with teary eyes and saw Izuru standing here, the knuckles on his right hand bloody. 

“Aw, sticking up for your big sister you freak? I’m surprised you even care about her, you don’t seem to give a shit about anything else!” 

“His name, is Hajime. Now leave him alone, or you’ll regret it.” Izuru replied. By this point, Hajime managed to sit up, his body shaking from pain.

“Oh really? What are you gonna do huh?”

“This.” 

By the time Izuru was done, the bullies had run off, holding their broken noses and bruised ribs. Izuru didn’t have a scratch on him, the only sign he’d even been in the fight was the blood on his knuckles and his slightly disheveled uniform.

Hajime was curled up on the ground, crying softly. Izuru walked over, kneeling next to his brother and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Hajime…” 

“I’m so stupid… I should… I should just be a girl. I should just shut up and just-” Hajime’s self deprecating rambling was cut off when Izuru grabbed his ear and pulled it gently.

“Shut up. No matter what anyone says, you’re you. They can’t tell you who or what to be, only you can. If you feel like you’re a boy, then you’re a boy. That’s all there is to it. If people don’t like it, that’s their problem, not yours. The only people who matter are the ones who accept you for who you are, anyone who doesn’t accept you doesn’t matter.” Hajime stared at his brother in surprise, not having expected his brother to say something so… touching. Izuru usually wasn’t one for words unless it was something serious, so Hajime knew that Izuru was telling the truth.

“Izuru…” Hajime’s voice was small and he hugged his brother tightly, ignoring the pain in his ribs. “Thank you… thank you so much.” Izuru hugged back gently, helping his brother to his feet and helping him to the nurse’s office, glaring at anyone who looked at them.

The bullies who attacked Hajime later came to the headmaster and told them that Izuru attacked them for no reason. When asked their side of the story, the brothers told what had really happened, yet Izuru was the only one who was punished. When asked why, the school said that Izuru shouldn’t have beaten up the other students, and that ‘they had been punished enough’ when Izuru attacked them.

Their parents weren’t too happy with Izuru being suspended for two months, and didn’t want to hear why. Hajime refused to go back to school until Izuru was able to go back, frustrating their parents even more. 

No one said anything bad about Hajime after that, too afraid of Izuru’s wrath. Hajime wasn’t too upset about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so I'm having trouble writing the ACTUAL next chapter, so here's a blast from the past for you.


	19. Tales from the past pt.2

“Hey Izuru why are you so weird?”

“Huh?”

“You’re weird, why are you weird? You don’t ever talk to anyone except Hanako, and you never want to play with us. How come?”

“U-um…”

“You don’t ever talk about things you like either. Whenever we talk about things we like you never say anything. Do you even like things?”

“O-of course I do! I just…”

“You’re really weird Izuru…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Are you crying? Why are you crying? You’re so weird! We’re just asking questions! Don’t be such a crybaby!”

“I… I…”

“Leave him alone! He’s not weird!” A small girl stomped up to the group of children and stood by her brother, hands on her hips. “My brother is not weird!”

“Then why doesn’t he talk a lot? Or want to play with us?”

“Maybe it’s because you guys are a bunch of poopy heads and he doesn’t wanna talk to you! Go away you butts!” The girl yelled, stompping her foot. The other children grumbled and walked off.

“Hanako…”

“It’s OK Zuzu. I’m sorry they were being mean.”

“It’s my fault… You didn’t have to stand up for me.”

“Yes I did! They were being mean and making you upset! I’m your sister I’m supposed to help you! I’m not gonna stand by and let kids make fun of you!”

“‘S my fault for being weird.”

“You’re not weird. You’re Izuru! I mean, they’re right in that you don’t talk much, but that’s not bad! ‘Cause when you do talk you have good stuff to say. And you do like things. You really like that one video game that has the fighting in it, even though mom and dad don’t like it that much… and you like Scooby-Doo! And that scary story show! You like lotsa things!” Izuru looked up at his sister’s smiling face. He smiled back, looking a bit silly with a tooth missing, but he looked happier.

“C’mon, you have the dessert mom packed for me today.” She said, grabbing his hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad that there was only one short chapter, so I wrote another one.


	20. Calm before the storm

_”This is bad. Can’t you do something?!”_   
_”I’m not ymj Xzujw Mnlm Xhmttq Qjajq Sjzwtqtlnxy tw gwfns xzwljts. Besides, the technology that Jstxmnrf used isn’t btwpnsl. There’s nothing I can do.”_   
_”Dammit! Mj'x xyfwynsl yt wjrjrgjw… If we don’t do something, mj rnlmy gwnsl gfhp ymj Xzujw Mnlm Xhmttq Qjajq Ijxufnw.”_   
_”For now, we just have to wait… and pray.”_

That night, Izuru snuck out of his and Hajime’s cottage, and went straight for the arcade machine. He was almost saddened by how bad it was. He hadn’t expected it to be good, being made by Monokuma, but it was worse than he thought. 

However, when he got to the end, where it read ‘Down Five’ he got interested. He had wondered why some days were skipped, and this was a clue, a very, very easy clue. 

Going back to the main title screen, he pressed the down button five times and the screen changed. Playing through the ‘True’ game, he understood why this would be a motive, especially when he saw the ending credits. 

Monokuma popped up happily. “Congratulations! You completed the game and you’re entitle to the ending prize! Unfortunately, the ending prize is only given to the first person who completed the game, and you’re not them.” Izuru knew that the bear was lying, and that he’d only give the ‘ending prize’ to the person who was most likely to commit murder because of the game.

“Whatever. Your game sucked. I’ve seen better graphics and gameplay in a game done in 3 days by a 12 year old. Seriously, the graphics would’ve been decent if they were in a PS1 game, but for what it’s actually on, it sucks. Pretty hard to control too.” Izuru commented, crossing his arms. 

“Hey shut up! I didn’t have the budget to make it better! And it _was_ a PS1 game at first! I just transferred it to this!” Monokuma yelled, his claws coming out.

“You could’ve at least improved the graphics… I think you were just lazy.” 

“Shut up! Get out of here!” The bear mumbled, looking sad.

“I take it you’re going to go drown your sorrows in martini’s and chicken wings?” Izuru replied smugly. 

“YES!” The bear cried as he disappeared angrily. Izuru chuckled to himself and walked back, feeling proud to have at least pissed off Monokuma.

 

“NO! I CALL BULLSHIT!”

“It’s not my fault that you suck at this.”

“‘THE BAND EGORAPTOR’ IS A GREAT WHITE CARD FOR THIS!”

“No it’s not!”

“It’s better than ‘a sad handjob’!”

“I don’t think anything could be better than that.”

“FUCK THIS I’M OUT!” With that, Kazuichi threw his cards into the air and stalked off.

“… maybe ‘Cards Against Humanity’ wasn’t a good game to play.” Nagito commented.

“You’re winning though…” Hajime mumbled, looking grumpily at his cards, most of which weren’t all that great. 

“Perhaps we should play something else?” Gundam suggested. “While I admit this vulgar game is amusing, we do not need more reactions like Kazuichi’s.” 

“Hmm, true, true… We should play Monopoly instead!” Ibuki shouted.

“NO!” Almost everyone yelled back, knowing that game would just make things worse. 

It had been Chiaki’s idea to play games, though she had wanted to play video games. Kazuichi had been the one to suggest Cards Against Humanity after he found a box of them in the Rocket Punch market. 

And that is how Chiaki, Hajime, Izuru, Nagito, Gundam, Ibuki and Akane ended up on the hotel lobby floor, surrounded by black and white cards. 

Eventually, after a bit of arguing, they ended up settling on playing blackjack. Nagito and Izuru were tied in first place, and after tying five more times trying to beat each other, they gave up. 

“I swear, you two are magic or somethin’.” Akane commented, scratching her ear. Everyone seemed tired of playing, so they wandered off, except for Hajime, Izuru and Nagito.

“That was a lot of fun! I haven’t played games with other people before!” The Lucky Student said, laughing.

“Really?” Hajime asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve never really interacted all that much with my peers, so I haven’t had the chance. It was amazing getting to share this experience with everyone.” Nagito was smiling widely, looking like a kid on Christmas day. 

“I can relate to that.” Izuru replied. Nagito looked around, bit his lip and looked at Hajime.

“Hajime, I apologize if this is something you do not want to speak about, but it’s about what I wanted to ask earlier.”

“About the binder?” Hajime asked, looking a bit nervous.

“Yes… I have heard about them before, but I wanted to talk to you before making assumptions..” As Nagito spoke, Hajime seemed to relax a bit.

“Well… your assumption is probably right.” Hajime muttered. 

“You are… trans yes?” Nagito said after a moment, looking a bit nervous. Hajime nodded, making himself smaller. “I see! So that’s whyou don’t want to swim. That’s understandable.” With that, the white haired boy started putting the cards back in their boxes, humming to himself.

“That’s… all you have to say? You’re not going to be mad or anything?” Hajime asked, looking surprised. Izuru had been on edge the entire time, but had relaxed a bit at Nagito’s lack of reaction.

“Mad? Why? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being trans. I was only curious and wanted to confirm. I’m not going to treat you differently now that I know.” Nagito explained, tilting his head. “I mean, you’re still Hajime, there’s nothing different about you.”

“That’s… thank you. I mean, most people that I’ve come out to either get angry, ignore me being male, or treat me differently…” Hajime mumbled. Nagito merely smiled at what Hajime said, shaking his head.

“Not me! You are still the same person, so I am going to treat you the same.” Hajime honestly felt… relieved. The only other person who had accepted him so easily was Izuru. 

Speaking of Izuru, the other had begun to trust Nagito a bit more because of this. While he was still wary, he at least had a bit more… respect for the white haired boy.

“I am curious though, if you were to have children… would you be… ‘trans’parent.” Nagito asked, a small smile on his face. Hajime had to process what Nagito said for a moment before he burst out laughing at the pun. Izuru had to cover his mouth to hide the smile on his face.

The three joked around a bit more before parting ways. On the way back to their cottage the brothers ran into Fuyuhiko, who had a manila envelope under his arm. 

“Oh great, I have to see you bastards now.” The yakuza cursed in place of a greeting.

“Well hello to you too.” Hajime replied grumpily.

“Listen, I’m not in the mood for your shit right now, I’m in a bad enough mood as it is!” As Fuyuhiko spoke, Izuru stared at the envelope in his hands, and he saw a Monokuma stamp on it. 

“Looks like someone played ‘Twilight Syndrome’.” Izuru said offhandedly. Fuyuhiko looked shocked.

“What? Why would I play a stupid ass game like that!?”

“Hey, that envelope, what’s inside?” Hajime questioned, spotting it as well, putting two and two together.

“Shut the hell up! What gives you the right to question me?!”

“I-I’m not questioning you-” Hajime quickly replied.

“I am though.” Izuru put in, earning a glare from Hajime. 

“What, are you upset that I didn’t consult you guys before acting?” The short boy accused. 

“It-it’s not like that!” Hajime hurriedly said, hoping to defuse the situation.

“Don’t ever talk to me again! Or I swear I will kill you!” With that, the yakuza ran into his room, slamming the door.

“That went well…” Hajime groaned.

“Very.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is far too short for how long it took me.


	21. Beach fun

“We’re going to die aren’t we?” Hajime mumbled as they walked towards the supermarket, his feet dragging against the ground.

 

“Probably not, Kazuichi is about as threatening as a cocker spaniel.” Izuru replied, hands in his pockets. Once they were inside however, there was no sign of Kazuichi, making Izuru tense a bit. 

 

Earlier that morning the mechanic had approached them, whispering to meet him at the market at 2:00, and to not tell anyone. It had been suspicious from the start yet the brothers had decided to go. 

 

Hajime leaned against the wall, looking around. “Why do you think he called us here anyway?” 

 

“Probably something stupid. And if I was a gambling man, I’d bet it had something to do with girls.” Izuru replied.

 

“That does seem to be his only motivation…” Hajime mumbled under his breath. They waited a good ten minutes before Kazuichi finally showed up.

 

“Hey! You guys made it! Great!” The mechanic announced. 

 

“Why did you even want us to come here?” Izuru asked him immediately.

 

“Well… I need you guys to do me a favor…” 

 

“A favor…” Hajime said, his face looking exhausted already.

 

“Apparently, the girls are going to splash around at the beach… so, I was thinking we should crash their little party!” Kazuichi declared. Izuru finally gave in and put his face in his palm, annoyed at the mechanic’s antics.

 

“Why us?” Hajime asked, his voice slightly cracking in shock. Kazuichi didn’t seem to realize that he was annoyed.

 

“Well, it’s kind of hard to fake a coincidence all by yourself isn’t it? So, I was thinking we say that the three of us were going to the beach and run into the girls by coincidence?” Kazuichi seemed to have thought this out very well, slightly impressing Izuru.

 

“Again, why us?” Hajime repeated.

 

“Nekomaru can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life… Gundam is well… Gundam. Nagito kind of gives me the creeps for some reason and Fuyuhiko is out of the question… I can’t ask anyone else! Hey, I already got you guys swimsuits so you can’t say no!” The mechanic explained, looking angry.  
“Why are you snapping at us?” Hajime asked, looking a bit scared.

 

“If you guys say no I’m gonna bug you about it until you die!” Kazuichi threatened. The brothers knew they had no choice, as Kazuichi would most certainly make good on his promise.

 

“Fine… let’s just go.” Izuru ground out. 

 

“Yahoo! I knew you guys were cool! From what I heard, they’re going to Chandler Beach on the 2nd island! Let’s get going to the diner, we’ll wait for them there.” With that, the mechanic practically dragged the two to the diner.

 

“Alright, we’re here, now we just have to stake out until the ladies arrive.” He said as he sat down in a booth. 

 

‘Is he really sure about this? This seems a bit _too_ stalker-ish…’ Hajime thought to himself. “Hey, do you know what time they’re even meeting up?” He asked.

 

“They said something about coming just a little after the sun starts to tilt, so… around 4:00.” Kazuichi said, looking far too casual.

 

“It’s 3:00 now! We have to wait one more hour!” Hajime replied incredulously. 

 

“Always make your move early! That’s just the basics!” As Kazuichi said that, Izuru rested his head on the table, regretting his decision.

 

“Don’t talk like an expert right now.” He mumbled. Ten minutes passed before Hajime saw something out of the window.

 

“Huh? That’s weird…” He said, turning to the window. Izuru saw what he did, and got a little concerned as well.

 

“Isn’t that…?” Kazuichi asked, looking confused.

 

“We should check it out, see if anything happened.” The three boys ran out of the diner, meeting up with the two people that were walking out of the tunnel to the beach.

 

“Mahiru, Hiyoko, are you guys OK? You’re soaking wet!” Hajime yelled once they were close enough. Indeed, the two of them were soaked with water, Hiyoko was crying softly, her kimono drooping with the weight. Mahiru was the same, her entire body soaked, except somehow for her camera.

 

“There was a bit of an… accident.” Mahiru explained, looking bashful. “Hiyoko and I were at the beach, and I wanted Hiyoko to pose by the water so I could take her picture. Unfortunately, the tide came in and caught her. She got dragged out a little bit so I had to help her.” 

 

“Oh damn. Do you guys need any help?” Kazuichi looked genuinely worried, as he spoke.

 

“No, we’re OK! We just need to dry off. We’ll be seeing you guys!” The redhead replied as she hurried Hiyoko along. As they were leaving two more people showed up.

 

“Ooh? What’s this? Izzy and Hajimeme are always together, but the two of them with Kazuichi is an interesting combination!” Ibuki strolled up to them, talking excitedly, with Mikan in tow.

 

“H-Hello, it’s-it’s a lovely day isn’t it?” Mikan greeted.

 

“Oh hey, what a coincidence running into you guys here.” Kazuichi said to them. “I never expected to coincidentally run into you you guys!” 

 

‘Oh god he’s bad at this.’ Izuru thought, and in an attempt to save just a bit of Kazuichi’s fragile dignity, spoke up. “He means to say, it’s nice seeing you guys here. Though, to be honest, you two make quite an odd pair yourselves.”

 

“Well, Mikan and I were heading to the beach! We’re meeting up with some of the other girls!” Ibuki replied.

 

“I-Ibuki! We weren’t supposed to tell anyone!” Mikan chided.

 

“Oopies!” 

 

“Really? That’s nice, what time were you guys meeting?” Izuru asked, his face calm. Kazuichi was staring at him, surprised that Izuru could be that smooth. 

 

“We’re supposed to meet around 4:00 but Ibuki wanted to eat before we met up!” The musician replied.

 

“Mind if we join you? The three of us were heading to the beach as well, Kazuichi wanted to have a race.” As Izuru said that, Kazuichi opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced when Hajime elbowed him in the ribs. 

 

“W-well, Akane was the one who suggested it, so we’d have to ask her if you could join us, but I’m sure she won’t mind!” Mikan said, looking happy. Kazuichi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the girls followed them into the diner.

 

“Though, we just saw Hiyoko and Mahiru pass by, weren’t they coming too?” Hajime asked the two girls.

 

“Mahiru said she had business to take care of, and Hiyoko said she couldn’t swim…” Ibuki replied, munching on a burger.

 

“I see. Also, where are your swimsuits? You can’t change at the beach house.” Kazuichi’s eyes had a strange look as he asked his question.

 

“That’s why we wore them under our clothes! We just have to go to the bathroom and change!” Ibuki cheered. 

 

“That makes sense! I came wearing mine too!” Kazuichi replied.

 

“Really?” Hajime asked, a bit surprised that Kazuichi had came so prepared.

 

“Which reminds me, you guys aren’t wearing yours yet, you’ll have to go to the bathroom to change.” Kazuichi suddenly pulled something out of his pocket… two pairs of swim… bottoms. They couldn’t quite be called shorts, as they were far too small.

 

“Wh-what the hell?!” Hajime yelled, as Izuru looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ _That’s_ the swimsuits you picked out!”

 

“It-it may be rude of me to say this but… that looks a little too daring!” Mikan yelled. 

 

“Yeah seriously, what if something falls out? We might get censored by the network!” Ibuki agreed. 

 

“That’s not the problem…” Izuru muttered.

 

“What’s the matter!? Are you saying you don’t wanna match with me?” Izuru choked on his own spit as Kazuichi said that.

 

“I-it’s matching? Then I _definitely_ don’t want to wear it!” Hajime replied. “I’d rather just not swim.”

 

“Hajime, dude, you _never_ want to swim? Why? You got a tail or something?” Kazuichi complained, looking out the window.

 

“I wish…” They sat around for a while before the diner door opened, they all turned to look at who had entered.

 

“My, my, how disappointing, I was hoping that if I came early I’d be the first one here.” Chiaki mumbled as she entered. Hajime and Izuru couldn’t help but stare, mainly because the two piece she was wearing seemed a bit too small for her. Izuru’s eyes lingered on her chest, though mainly for the tiny mole that rested on her right breast. He managed to tear his eyes away, as did Hajime, their cheeks both a bit red.

 

“Whoa, Chiaki, you came wearing only your swimsuit?” Ibuki cried.

 

“I didn’t wanna carry it with me… If I did, it’d be a burden.” The gamer replied.

 

“And yet you’re carrying something…” Izuru mumbled, looking anywhere but her. While he was usually not distracted by a person’s appearance, it was a different story when they were only partially clothed. 

 

“Well, I thought instead of bringing food, I’d bring ice cream. I also brought some board games.” Chiaki said as she set down the container.

 

“I don’t really think ice cream makes a good lunch.” Hajime commented. “Though, board games are a good idea.” 

 

Kazuichi, meanwhile, was staring at Chiaki very obviously. “Is… is this what gap moe is supposed to be?” He finally asked. “For someone so quiet to wear something so daring… doesn’t it get you excited guys?”

 

“Well… um… I dunno…” Hajime stuttered. Izuru said nothing, merely looking away. 

 

“Seriously man, I never suspected Chiaki to have such huge jugs!” Kazuichi said, rather loudly. Izuru went more red and turned his head down so his hair was covering his face a bit. 

 

“K-keep it down.” Hajime hissed. However, Chiaki had heard them.

 

“Jugs?” She asked confused. “I don’t have any milk with me though.” Hajime stuttered a bit at Chiaki’s naivety.

 

“Though, this swimsuit is a little too small on me… they didn’t have anything in my size though, and something bigger would just look silly. Do I not look good in it?” Chiaki asked the brothers.

 

“Wh-what? No! I mean, you-you look good.” Hajime stuttered out. Izuru only nodded, and started picking at a piece of thread on his jacket. Chiaki smiled.

 

“Then I’m glad…. I guess.” Hajime was about to say something but was cut off by Ibuki’s laughter.

 

“Wearing a bikini is so daring! You get bonus points for wearing a white one too!” She yelled. 

 

“H-hey, sorry I kept you waiting.” Said a voice from behind them. They turned to see Akane standing there, blood gushing from her head.

 

“Akane!” Hajime yelled, concerned.

 

“H-hey, sorry to… keep you guys waitin’.” She repeated, hand on her head.

 

“Eeeeek! Akane! Wh-what happened to you?!” Mikan shouted, rushing over to the gymnast.

 

“What? I made sure to wear a swimsuit this time…” She replied.

 

“That’s not the point! You’re bleeding like crazy!” Kazuichi shouted.

 

“Oh? This? I’m fine. I ran into coach Nekomaru on the way here and y’know, whenever I see him, I gotta fight!” Akane explained, making Hajime wonder why she had to do that.

 

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright? Your head looks like it’s split in half!” Ibuki yelled.

 

“Eh, I’ll just rub some spit in it, that’ll fix it right up.” Akane brushed off everyone’s worry.

 

“While it’s true that human saliva does have some ability to heal wounds, it’s not nearly strong enough to heal a wound of that size, plus, it is a head wound, so you will need medical attention to make sure you did not get brain damage.” Izuru explained. 

 

“H-he’s right! We need to get you patched up right away!” Mikan cried, unnaturally forceful as she grabbed Akane’s wrist, dragging her into the bathroom.

 

“Well, that’s almost everyone… except Peko. It’s almost 4:00 too…” Chiaki said, looking at the clock.

 

“Oh! How us boys go and set up the things for you? I don’t want such lovely ladies to have to do the grunt work.” Kazuichi offered.

 

“How polite! Go right ahead, we’ll be there in a few!” Ibuki yelled, piling the cooler with the ice cream and the bag with the games into Kazuichi’s arms. 

 

“Oof! Yes ma’am!” The mechanic yelled, running off.

 

“I guess we should go help him…” Hajime said, looking tired.

 

“Do we really?” Izuru asked.

 

“Yes. C’mon…” Hajime said as he dragged Izuru out of the diner. “I don’t want to be in there with the girls… it’s embarrassing.” 

 

“I know what you mean…” The brothers walked through the tunnel silently, dreading having to set up the things for the girls, but once they were through….

 

*Bing bong bing bong*

 

“No…”

“We’ve got a corpse here! After a certain amount of time, a class trial will occur.” Monokuma announced, before disappearing. 

 

“S-someone… HELLLLLP!” Kazuichi’s voice cried out. The brothers ran into the beach house through the roadside door, stumbling upon a horrific scene.

 

Peko Pekoyama and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu lay on the floor, blood dripping from the wounds in their heads. Peko was laying face down on the floor, clad only in a swimsuit, while Fuyuhiko was slumped against the wall. 

 

“No… it happened again?!” Hajime yelled, looking a bit sick. Izuru walked over to Peko, and bent down, putting a finger to her neck.

 

“She… really is dead.” He ground out before standing and walking over to Fuyuhiko.

 

“What’s the point man?! Why are you checking? The body discover-” Kazuichi started.

 

“He’s alive.” Izuru announced. 

 

“What?” Hajime asked, hope in his eyes.

 

“Fuyuhiko is alive. Go get Mikan, now!” Izuru barked. Kazuichi nodded and ran out.

 

“This is… what the hell? Why would anyone?”

 

“I don’t know. This… wasn’t what I thought would happen.” Izuru mumbled in reply.

 

“What you thought would happen? Izuru, what do you mean?” Hajime questioned, looking confused.

 

“When I played that game, and saw Fuyuhiko with that envelope, I figured that he must’ve been given the motive, so I thought he’d be the murderer, or at least have something to do with it. But it appears as though he was a potential victim.” Izuru explained.  
“Dammit! Why did this happen?” Hajime cried.

 

“It doesn’t matter why. All that matters right now is ‘who’ and ‘how’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slkv zodzbh ulooldh wvhkzri, qfhg zh gsv wzb ulooldh gsv mrtsg


	22. Twilight Syndrome

“H-he’s just unconscious, and the blood is mostly coming from some cuts. I-I had to remove a few shards of… I think it was glass. I also sterilized the wound since there was a bit of dirt in the wound and on Fuyuhiko’s head.” Mikan said as she finished wrapping Fuyuhiko’s head in bandages.

 

“Thank you Mikan… it’s a relief knowing that he’s alive. It’d be awful if there were two murders.” Byakuya praised as he looked at the crime scene. Everyone, sans Mahiru, Hiyoko and Nagito, (the last of whom had gone to investigate by himself, while the former two locked themselves in their rooms) had gathered in the beach house. 

 

“How the hell did Peko get killed?! I mean, that girl was a badass, I never expected her to die…” Akane mumbled, looking at the ground. 

 

“Yeah, seriously, and why were her and Fuyuhiko in the beach house anyway? I mean I understand Peko since she was going to the beach with you guys, but Fuyuhiko? The guy can’t stand anyone here, and I highly doubt he was going for a walk or a swim.” Kazuichi wondered aloud. 

 

“That’s true. For now though, we need to focus on our investigation. Mikan, do you mind if I assist you with your autopsy? Two eyes are better than one.” Izuru asked, turning to the nurse, who let out a squeal of shock.

 

“O-of course I don’t mind! It-it might be easier that way t-too, since… it’s hard for me to…” 

 

“I understand. Everyone else can investigate their own things.” With Izuru’s command, everyone seemed to scatter, leaving only Izuru, Mikan, Hajime, Chiaki and Kazuichi in the beach house. 

 

**INVESTIGATION**

 

Hajime opened up the Monokuma file, which pulled up a picture of Peko, along with her information.

 

**The victim is Peko Pekoyama, the estimated time of death is around 3:00 PM… The body was found inside the beach house on the second island. The cause of death is a single killing blow to the head. The only other external injuries are cuts on her hands. There are no traces of foreign substances such as drugs.**

 

Hajime looked around and saw several interesting things, such as a metal baseball bat lying near Peko’s body, shards of a broken pot surrounded by dirt, a plant lay slightly buried under the dirt and a few smears of blood leading from the pool of blood near Peko, out the front front entrance of the beach house.

 

Hajime knelt down to get a closer look, and saw that the smears of blood were actually footprints that had been hastily smeared. 

 

“The killer probably tried to hide their tracks… that’s weird though, some of the prints are bigger than others.” He whispered to himself. He inspected the bat, immediately knowing this was the weapon. 

 

The broken pot, dirt and plant he looked at next. The plant had obviously been potted earlier but had been used as an improvised weapon against someone. He recalled that Fuyuhiko had some cuts on his head as well as dirt and he figured that someone had thrown the pot at the yakuza. 

 

Sighing, Hajime stood up, and walked over to Mikan and Izuru, who had been looking at Peko’s body. It was odd to see the swordswoman so still, her skin having gone almost paper white. 

 

“How’s it going?” Hajime asked, careful not to step in the blood.

 

“At the very least, Peko was killed instantly, so she wasn’t in pain. There is also some dirt on the cuts on her hands. Probably from the same pot that was used to attack Fuyuhiko.” Izuru explained, not taking his eyes off the body.

 

“How did you…?” Hajime muttered, staring at his brother.

 

“Mikan said that Fuyuhiko was bleeding because of cuts on his head. The only thing here that would cause cuts was the broken pot. Plus, if the attacker had used the bat, Fuyuhiko would be dead.” 

 

“I-I see… um, anything else?” Hajime was only slightly shocked at how quickly his brother had pieced it together, remembering how Izuru could always predict the twists in mystery movies, and often solved the mystery before the characters did. 

 

“Peko’s wound is at an 85° angle.” Izuru said simply, moving away from the body. 

 

“OK… what does that have to do with anything?” Hajime asked. Izuru looked a bit annoyed but before he could say something…

 

“Hajime! I need to talk to you about something.” Chiaki yelled, waving the boy over. Hajime looked at his brother, gave a nervous smile and ran off to see what Chiaki had found.

 

“What is it?” He asked, looking confused.

 

“I think… this case might have something to do with that game.” She replied, looking sad.

 

“Really? How so? I never played it so…” 

 

“You’ll see if you play it, come on, it’s important.” As she said this, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off. “We should also check Peko’s room to see if there are any clues.” 

 

Izuru watched with mild amusement as his brother was dragged off, but then he turned to Mikan, giving her a serious look. “I need to ask you something…”

 

After playing the game, Hajime somewhat understood why Chiaki had said the game was important. The metal bat, the fact that Fuyuhiko was involved made sense in the context of the game. Monokuma had also appeared, saying that he could have given them the ending prize if they had been the first ones to beat the game, but, alas, they were not.

 

As they walked to Peko’s room, they saw Nagito leaving… Fuyuhiko’s room?

 

“Nagito, what are you doing?” Chiaki asked, tilting her head.

 

“Ah, I’m just gathering clues! Let’s meet up at the beach house once you’re done, we can talk about it there.” He said, then ran off, leaving behind two confused teenagers. Chiaki and Hajime looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and moving on.

 

While there were no case breaking clues in Peko’s room, they did find a small strip of cloth with the Kuzuryuu family crest on it, which looked like it had been torn off of something. Hajime filed it away just in case, before heading back to the beach house, where Nagito and Izuru were sitting near the entrance, looking at something.

 

“Hey, hey, what are you guys looking at?” Chiaki questioned, kneeling down as well.

 

“Well, Nagito was showing me what he does in his spare time apparently.” Izuru replied.

 

“Which is?” Hajime asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

 

“Apparently he likes breaking into people’s rooms.” Izuru said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

 

“What?!” 

 

“He’s just joking. This was my first time breaking into people’s rooms. But I did it with good reason. Look.” Nagito pointed to what was in front of him, which was a group of papers with footprints drawn on them, along with names in the corner.

 

“This is…?” Hajime asked in shock.

 

“Everyone’s footprints.” Nagito responded.

 

“How did you get Mahiru and Hiyoko out of their rooms though? Last I checked they weren’t coming out…” Chiaki muttered.

 

“I told them that Monokuma wanted them to go to the airport, and if they didn’t they’d be executed. That gave me enough time to sneak in.” Hajime’s jaw dropped as Nagito explained his actions.

 

“Really? You couldn’t have come up with a better solution?” He asked. Nagito only laughed.

 

“Would they have really listened to any other excuse I gave?” Nagito did have a point however, so Hajime only sighed.

 

“Fine, so… whose footprints are these?” He finally asked.

 

“Well, there are two sets from what I see. One set appears to be Fuyuhiko’s while the other seems to be Mahiru’s.” Nagito explained, comparing the bloody footprints to the ones he’d collected.

 

“Mahiru _is_ involved then. I thought as much.” Izuru wondered aloud.

 

“What do you mean?” Hajime asked.

 

“You played the game right? The bat and the fact that Fuyuhiko was involved made me suspicious of the others that were in that games as well.” The younger twin explained.

 

“Which would be, Mahiru, Mikan, Hiyoko, and Ibuki…” Chiaki said, seemingly realizing something.

 

“That makes sense…”

 

“I already spoke with Mikan and Ibuki, but I’ve been unable to get ahold of Mahiru or Hiyoko. Ibuki and Mikan both have alibi’s for the time of the murder. We saw Mahiru and Hiyoko near the time the murder occurred.” Izuru seemed to be thinking very hard, his eyes going a bit unfocused.

 

“Interesting…” Nagito agreed. "I also found _this_ while I was looking in Mahiru's room." As he said this, Nagito put down a file on the floor, taking out the pictures inside.

"This is!?" Hajime yelled in shock. The first picture was of a young girl, slumped against the wall, blood pouring from the wound in her head. The second photo was of three familiar girls, Hiyoko, Mikan and Ibuki. The third photo was of a broken vase. The last, was of Girl E. These were the pictures taken by Girl D in Twilight Syndrome.

"There's also a note attached to it." Nagito continued, pulling out a note that said: **Play Twilight Syndrome. After you get the game over screen, press down five times at the start screen. Then maybe you'll remember what you've done. Meet me at the beach house at 2:00 PM tomorrow.** The note was also unsigned.

"So... someone sent this to Mahiru to lure her out... but if that's the case, and if this is connected to that game, how is Peko involved?" Hajime's head was hurting from how complicated this was.

 

Suddenly, the monitor sprang to life, and Monokuma announced that the investigation time was over, and to come to Monokuma rock. 

 

“Looks like it’s time… I’m not ready for this…” Hajime said, looking exhausted already.

 

**Truth Bullets:**  
**Monokuma File**  
**Metal Bat**  
**Broken pot**  
**Bloody Footprints**  
**Izuru's Autopsy**  
**Strip of cloth**  
**Izuru's account ******  
**Photo of girl**  
**Group Photo**  
**Photo of broken vase**  
**Note**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but the next one will be longer.  
> ... .... . / .. ... / .-- .- - -.-. .... .. -. --.


	23. Second Trial

"U-um, excuse me, but where is Fuyuhiko?" Mikan a **s** ked Monokuma as soon as everyone arrived. "You made me leave him after you made that announcement…"

"Oh, him? Well, you see, he woke up not long after you left, he got beary upset for some reasons so I had to sedate him! He won't be here for this trial." The bear announces. Izuru only sighed.

"If that's the case, there's nothing we can do at this point. We only can proceed to the trial. With the evidence we have, and all of us thinking together, we should come to a conclusion fairly easily." Izuru said, looking up at Monokuma rock.

"I… guess you're right. But I still don't like this! I mean, we have to send one of our friends to their death!" Mahiru cried, looking afraid.

"You seem fairly sure that this was an actual murder." Gundam accused, looking at Mahiru.

"It obviously was. No one gets a head wound that severe by 'accident' and Peko certainly couldn't have done it herself." Nagito sighed, looking at the ground. That seemed to sober everyone up. Before anyone could speak again, Monokuma rock roared and spat out the escalator, inviting them inside.

The elevator ride was slow and torturous. The elevator car itself felt too big, yet too small at the same time. Big because four of their fellow classmates weren't there and too small from the suffocating atmosphere and the sense of dread. It was an intense relief when the car finally came to a stop.

The relief was short lived however, as the entered the trial room, this time it was decorated with blue sheets and backgrounds of the beach.

"Soooo, how do you like my redecoration? I'm a natural artist aren't I? I won't allow you to say any different by the way." Monokuma exclaimed. Izuru opened his mouth, but Hajime promptly covered it with his hand, not wanting his brother to get, I dunno, shish-kebabed or something.

"Let's just get to the point, bear." Byakuya demanded sternly, making the bear wilt and take his seat.

"Fine… yer no fun… Ahem, anyway! Everyone, to your seats!" With Monokuma's words ringing in their ears, everyone took their respective seats.

First, a quick account was made about the game that was used as the motive, with the girls involved testifying that they had no memories of such a thing happening.

"Now that we've talked about the game… what now?" Ibuki asked, looking confused. "I mean, does that make us get any closer to Peko's killer? I mean, she wasn't even mentioned in the game!"

"No, but there's no doubt she was connected to the people who were in the game." Hajime said, pulling out the small piece of cloth that he'd found in Peko's room. "Chiaki and I found this in Peko's room."

"What is that? Isn't that the Kuzuryuu family crest? What was it doing in Peko's room?" Byakuya asked, shocked.

"It looks like it was torn off of something, probably some piece of clothing, or something like that…" Chiaki explained.

"Peko most likely ripped it off of something of hers. I'm not sure why she would hide her history with the Kuzuryuu clan, but for some reason she did. It is possible that she worked for the clan, and by extension, Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko was Guy F, in the game, so if this case is related to that game, then there's no doubt that she would have something to do with it as well." Izuru's voice was even as he spoke, confidant in himself.

"Hang on a second, if Fuyuhiko was Guy F, wouldn't he have the most motivation to k **i** ll one of the girls involved, and if Peko worked for him, and wasn't directly involved, then why would he kill her?" Nagito asked.

"Fuyuhiko didn't kill her. If he did, then how would he have gotten knocked out?" Izuru replied with a question of his own.

"Isn't it obvious?! With her last strength Peko threw the vase at him and knocked him out!" Akane yelled.

"But Peko died instantly, she would have already been dead before Fuyuhiko was knocked unconscious." Hajime retorted.

"So, how'd he get knocked out?" Kazuichi questioned, looking around the room for answers.

"Hey, Monokuma, I have a question, the body discovery announcement plays after three or more people discover a body yes? Does that three or more people count the killer?" Nagito looked at Monokuma, making the bear sweat at the teen's words.

"Well… I um… you see… that's… Oh fine! No, OK, it doesn't count the killer! Dammit, you're not supposed to use the body discovery announcement as a clue! It's supposed to give a fair trial!" Monokuma seemed furious, and started to sulk on his throne.

"I see… Kazuichi, you said that the announcement played right after you discovered the body right?" Nagito asked, turning to the mechanic.

"Um… yeah? Why do you ask?"

"I get where you're going with this. That means that two people besides Kazuichi found the body. So, there were two more people in that beach house other than Peko and Fuyuhiko." Izuru said, impressed with Nagito's deduction.

"Then… those two people… who were they?" Mikan said, tears in her eyes.

"Well, Fuyuhiko would have been one of the people to discover the body, since Peko was dead before he was knocked unconscious. One o **f** them was the killer, and one more witness." Hajime explained, before he was interrupted by Hiyoko.

"Hang on a second! How do you know that Fuyuhiko was unconscious after she was killed?! Maybe the killer knocked him out before killing Peko! Or maybe he was the killer the witnesses just knocked him out!" The dancer yelled.

"Hiyoko… why would the witnesses do that? I mean, wouldn't they have told someone that he was the killer so that we wouldn't have to go through this?" Hajime argued back. "Besides, we found bloody footprints belonging to Fuyuhiko in the beach house, which means Peko was dead while Fuyuhiko was still awake."

"Well… that…"

"That's another thing, we found a second set of footprints as well… belonging to Mahiru Koizumi." As Hajime said that, the photographer when white as a sheet.

"Mahiru… you… you were there?" Ibuki yelled, staring.

"Well… n-no… I…"

"Don't try to hide it Mahiru, you can't say that those footprints were from before, or else they wouldn't be bloody." Izuru said, looking at the girl.

"Hold on a second! O-OK, I was there, yeah, but, I just found the bodies! And-and I was so freaked out and-and I thought both of them were dead, so I ran!" Mahiru tired explaining. But Hajime shook his head. "Then you came back later with Hiyoko to take pictures? You said before that you and Hiyoko were taking pictures on the beach before you ran into us at the diner."

"Well… um…"

"I doubt she is the killer." Izuru interrupted.

"What? She was there, and her footprints were as well!" Byakuya shouted. "How is it _not_ her?"

"For starters. Where is Hiyoko in all of this? After all, we saw her and Mahiru leaving the beach around the time of the murder, however, her footprints were not there."

"She could've just not gone in the beach house while Mahiru did the dirty deed!" Ibuki suggested.

"Then why was she wet?" Izuru asked.

"Wet?" Hajime looked at his brother surprised.

"Yes, when we saw her and Mahiru at the diner, they were both soaking we **t** , Mahiru claimed it was because of the tide coming in, but they could have just jumped in the ocean to wash off the blood."

"Why couldn't it have been high tide though huh?! Answer me you stupid weirdo! Me and Big Sis had bad timing and got caught in the water! Big sis said she was going into the beach house to find some towels and came back looking real scared! She said she couldn't find any towels so we went back to our cottages!" Hiyoko looked ready to cry as she yelled at Izuru.

"Well… for one, there wasn't any water in the beach house that suggested Mahiru went there when she was wet. That much water would have caused anyone to drip. Two, her camera was completely dry, if she had jumped in the water or gotten caught up, her camera would've been wet as well. Third, the tide doesn't come in on the islands until _after_ 7 PM. It was about 3:30 when we saw you guys." Hajime explained.

"Precisely. So it doesn't explain why you were wet as well." Izuru said, looking into the dancer's eyes.

"Well… What about my footprints huh?! If I went into the beach house like you're accusing me of, where are my footprints?"

"That's an easy answer. You stepped in Mahiru's." Hajime explained, making everyone confused.

"What?! What are you talking about?" Hiyoko shouted.

"Hiyoko, your footprints are small, very small, they easily fit inside Mahiru's. All you'd have to do is step inside of her footprints, which would hide yours, making it look like only Mahiru had stepped there." Hajime would never admit it, but he was proud of himself for figuring that one out.

"That… that…"

"There's also one more thing that proves that Mahiru isn't the killer, and that there's only one person left who could be." Izuru said, looking at Hajime expectantly.

"Eh? What's that look for?" He asked.

"You're smart enough to figure it out Hajime, tell them. Things get boring if it's only me explaining it." Izuru replied. Hajime was surprised, but he had a feeling he knew what it was.

"You're… you're talking about the angle of the wound right?"

"Huh? Angle? Aren't those the people with white wings?" Akane asked.

"No, no, angle! See, look at Peko's wound, it's at an **8** 5° angle! Which means that the person who attacked Peko must've been quite a bit shorter than her! The only people who are shorter than Peko by that much are Fuyuhiko and Hiyoko, and we've established that Fuyuhiko couldn't have been the killer." Hajime explained quickly.

"So the only person left is…. Hiyoko." Gundam said solemnly, looking at the dancer.

"H-hang on a second! Why would I have gone to the beach house in the first place?! What would be the-"

"Hiyoko… stop…" Everyone was shocked at the sudden words, and turned to look at Mahiru.

"Big sis?"

"Hiyoko… it's over OK? There's no way of getting out of this." There were tears in the photographer's eyes, and she was looking at the ground. "It was Hiyoko OK. B-but she was… she was trying to protect me!"

"Protect you? How?" Hajime asked.

"I… I got a note from Fuyuhiko that told me to play that game, when I did, I saw what was on it. The note said to meet him at the Beach House the next day, so I did. When I got there, Fuyuhiko and I talked for a bit. I didn't even notice Peko until she had stepped out of the bathroom with a bat. I got… I got scared, and I thought I was going to die but before she did, Hiyoko ran out of the closet and knocked into Peko. I… don't think she was expecting it so she dropped the bat. Hiyoko picked it up and… hit her. I was shocked, and-and Fuyuhiko was furious. He lunged at Hiyoko and I hit him in the head with the pot. Hiyoko and I had no idea what to do, but I decided to prop Fuyuhiko against the wall since he was still alive… I also closed Peko's eyes, but I accidentally rolled her body back over onto some of the pot shards, and her hands got cut up. I wanted to do more to give her some decency, but I realized that everyone would be coming to the beach house soon… so Hiyoko and I jumped into the water to wash off… I'm… I'm so sorry guys… I'm sorry Hiyoko…" As they listened to Mahiru's story, they felt a bit of sadness in them.

"Why… didn't you tell us? And why did you try and cover for Hiyoko?" Nagito asked, looking confused.

"I… Hiyoko is my friend, and-and I panicked. Hiyoko saved my life so… so I wanted to pay her back. But I betrayed her just now by telling you all… I'm so sorry…" Mahiru was sobbing by now, as was Hiyoko.

"Big sis… I… I'm not mad. I… there wasn't any way I was getting out of it anyway." Hiyoko tried to stop her crying, but broke down again. Mahiru couldn't seem to take it anymore and left her spot, walking over to the shorter girl and hugging her.

"Thank you… for saving me." Mahiru whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't do the same."

"Ahem, I hate to break up this touching moment, buuuut, we need to vote! So, who'll be, will you pick the right- oh screw it we all know the little pigtail bitch is guilty so just cast your votes." Monokuma seemed irritated that he didn't get to do his big speech, but seemed to cheer up once the votes were cast for Hiyoko.

"Cooooorect! Hiyoko Saionji is the one who offed Peko Pekoyama! Who knew a tiny girl could have the strength to kill!" Monokuma yelled.

"It wasn't a matter of strength, it was a matter of what she used, and where the blow landed. She just got lucky, or perhaps unlucky, to hit the right spot." Izuru commented casually. He seemed, indifferent to Hiyoko and Mahiru's despair.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You act like none of this shit matters!" Akane yelled, storming up to him.

"It really doesn't…" He paused, and after a moment, spoke again. "We'll all die sooner or later, this was just sooner."

"Izuru… you're not acting like you usually do." Hajime said, concern in his voice. Izuru was about to speak, before he shut his mouth, shaking his head.

"Anywho, we gotta get this train a movin'! Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Dancer, Hiyoko Saionji!"

"Hiyoko… one last picture?" Mahiru asked, holding up her camera. Hiyoko nodded and went close to Mahiru, smiling as best she could. The camera snapped, taking one final picture of the two girls together.

"Let's get this ball rolling! Iiiiiit's Punishment Time!" The bear cried as he hit his gavel onto the button.

**Super High School Level Dancer Hiyoko Saionji's Punishment!**  
**FIRE FEET!**

**_Hiyoko was standing on a glass stage, barefoot, underneath her was a large pit with some kind of light at the bottom. There is a large TV in front of her prompting her to dance, and so she did. However, every time she messed up a step, the light grew closer, and closer until it was revealed to be a large fire, growing closer. The fire growing closer made the glass underneath Hiyoko grow hotter, making her make more mistakes, making the fire grow closer. Eventually, the fire was so close that Hiyoko could no longer stand. The TV gave a loud beep, glowing red, signalling that she had failed. The glass beneath her opened up, sending the girl into the fire._ **

The students were staring wide eyed as Hiyoko's death played out, shocked. Izuru was looking at the ground, gritting his teeth.

"Whooie! That was a doozy wasn't it! So much Despair… Upupupupu…. Don't you guys agree?" Monokuma asked, looking at all of them.

"Heyy, what's with the long faces? I mean, none of you guys really liked her except for Mahiru, plus, didn't she die for a good cause? I mean, she saved the girl you actually liked!" As Monokuma spoke, Mahiru started to shake, until she stood up and was about to attack Monokuma, only to be stopped by Izuru.

"Stop it. Hiyoko gave up her life to save you, and you're already going to throw that away?" He said, looking in her eyes.

"Wh-what?!" She yelled.

"You heard me. If you really want to thank Hiyoko, you shouldn't be so reckless. Attacking Monokuma means certain death." He explained, before letting her go. "I'm not going to stop you again if you try, so if you want to, throw away the life you were given." With those words, he walked towards the elevator, standing in front of it.

"He's right. Hiyoko may be gone, but isn't it enough to just be alive? If you're not going to live for yourself, live for her sake instead." Nekomaru said, putting his hand on Mahiru's shoulder.

"I… You're right… sorry… let… let's just go…" She whispered, grabbing onto Nekomaru's arm for support. The coach helped her to the elevator, while everyone else ignored Monokuma, who was ranting about everyone ignoring him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this was rushed, but I had a loooong last couple of days, so forgive me. ^^; Gqv kivvwb aczdqdm eqbpwcb Givo. Pwxm kivvwb mfqab eqbpwcb Lmaxiqz. Qn wvm qa twab…
> 
> (EDIT: 9/10/2017) OK, so I fixed one big problem in this chapter, which was the A/N in the middle.


	24. Fuyuhiko gets rekt

Hajime closed the door to their cottage as soon as him and Izuru were inside, then turned to his brother with a stern look.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"What was what?" Though he said that, Izuru was looking at the ground, rubbing a piece of his hair between his fingers.

"You know what I'm talking about. Look, I know you can be kind of cold sometimes, and I'm used to that, but saying that Hiyoko and Peko's death didn't matter is way too weird for you! What was that?" Hajime growled, looking angry.

"… It doesn't really matter. We all die in sometime or another, so someone dying sooner rather than later isn't that big of a deal." Hajime could tell that Izuru was lying through his teeth, and he stomped closer.

"Stop it. What are you hiding from me? What's going on?"

"I'll tell you eventually. For now, I just want to focus on getting us to the end of this. If that can happen, everything will turn out OK." Izuru replied, sitting on the bed.

"What does that mean?!" Hajime was starting to get frustrated. All the events of the last few days were starting to catch up to him, making him start to crack.

"I promise, I'll tell you, just not right now. A certain… bear is watching." Hajime's eyes widened at his brother's words. "That bear has eyes everywhere, there's nowhere that I can safely tell you."

"Oh…" Hajime laid down on the bed, rubbing his temples.

"I promise, things will be OK… I swear." Hajime looked up at Izuru, who had a determined look on his face.

"I… I trust you." Hajime rolled over on the bed, facing away from his brother, still a little upset that Izuru was keeping things from him.

The next morning, they all met up at the restaurant where a surprising person was standing there.

"Fuyuhiko! You're awake!" Mikan yelled happily. "How is your head? Do you need-?" Fuyuhiko pushed Mikan away and stalked over to Mahiru.

"You! You're the reason that Peko is dead! You're the reason that my sister is dead too!" He yelled.

"I didn't do anything! I-I don't even remember what happened with your sister. I'm… I'm sorry that you lost her but trying to kill me wasn't going to solve anything!" She yelled back.

"You little-" Before Fuyuhiko could make a move, Izuru stepped in between the two.

"You're still going to blame her for this? You haven't learned anything have you?" Izuru asked, looking down.

"What the hell are you talking about?! It's her fault that-"

"It's your fault. Your desire for revenge caused Peko to die. You chose to try and kill Mahiru, which led to Hiyoko killing Peko in an attempt to defend Mahiru. Mahiru was unaware of her past actions, so she cannot be held accountable for them. However, you chose to ignore that, which led to Peko being killed. You have no one to blame but yourself." When Izuru finished speaking, Fuyuhiko looked shocked, before letting out a yell and running off.

"That… thanks Izuru…" Mahiru's tone was slightly sad even as she spoke. "I… I tried to make amends with him that day, but he wouldn't listen."

"Damn, I think you actually managed to talk some sense into him." Akane said, looking amazed. Izuru sighed and sat down.

"His constant yelling and bad attitude was getting on my nerves. Besides, there's the possibility that he would have actually killed Mahiru this time, and it's too soon for another class trial." He replied, piling some food on his plate.

"I thought 'it doesn't matter' when someone dies?" Akane snapped.

"It doesn't, but it's too early in the day for this shit." He snapped back, glaring.

"Sorry… he gets grumpy without coffee in the morning." Hajime explained, elbowing Izuru in the ribs, making him wince slightly. Izuru was mentally counting down in his head when Monomi would show up saying she defeated a Monobeast, and just as he got to 1, she appeared.

"I suppose this means we should explore. However, is it really a good idea for us to split up as we have been doing?" Byakuya commented.

"We cover more ground this way, besides, many of us do not get along, so exploring on our own would be beneficial." Izuru replied, not looking away from his food.

"That may be true… However! For now, we are going in groups. Izuru, Hajime, and Nagito will be the first. Mahiru, Mikan and Nekomaru will be the second. Myself, Ibuki and Akane will be the third, and Kazuichi, Gundam and Chiaki will be the fourth group. Now, everyone! Spread out!" Everyone grumbled, but didn't want to argue, and got into their groups.

"I'm sorry you two have to be stuck with me." Nagito apologized as they walked out.

"It's no problem, I mean, I don't mind you being around. You're a pretty chill guy." Hajime said, smiling a little. However, Izuru seemed a bit tense, though it wasn't terribly visible if you didn't look too closely.

The three eventually made it to the third island, the bright lights from one of the streets hurting their eyes, and the odd name of the Music Venue making them pause for a moment, though none of them said anything.

"This place just keeps getting weirder." Hajime sighed out. "What's next? An amusement park?!" He yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, yeah, again, this is a short chapter, however, the next one will be longer since it's them investigating. Also, updates will be slower if you didn't know. I am working on another fic at the moment, the explanation as for why is in that one, so check it out if you want!


	25. The sickness

It was a few days after the opening of the third island that it happened. Hajime came in, looking a bit woozy, while a sobbing Izuru trailed behind him. Everyone could only stare in shock, understandably so.

Nagito was the first to approach them, quietly asking them what was wrong, however, Hajime seemed to be too delirious to speak, and Izuru was crying too hard. It was at that moment that Mikan ran in, dragging Ibuki behind her.

"Aah! Izuru! Hajime! Come here." She yelled, running over to them and placing a hand on their foreheads, making Hajime stumble a bit, and Izuru flinch like he'd been burned. "I knew it!"

"You knew what exactly?" Byakuya demanded, looking at his classmates. Ibuki seemed to be just as out of it as Izuru and Hajime, though she looked… happier.

"Th-the three of them all have fevers! Very high fevers! Ibuki keeps talking very politely and does anything I tell her do without even asking questions! Izuru is a crying mess! Hajime doesn't even look conscious! He looks like he's sleepwalking his fever is so high!" The nurse replied.

"This… has to be Monokuma's doing." Nagito mused. As if on cue, Monokuma jumped out from seemingly nowhere and began to laugh, making Izuru cover his ears in fear.

"Ding ding ding!" The bear cried. "Things were getting waaaay too boring so I decided to spice things up a little! This little thing is something like to call "Despair Fever" it's a nasty little disease passed around mainly by itty bitty bugs that inhabit this island. Each case has different symptoms! Izuru looks like he has the "Coward Disease", Ibuki-"

"That is me." The musician replied quietly. "You say this is some kind of disease? Well I hope everyone gets better."

"Oh shut it!" Monokuma yelled, and Ibuki did, confirming what Mikan had said earlier. "And Hajime… well, I ain't sure, he looks kinda dead though, you should probably get him to the hospital before he keels over. It'd be way too boring if death happened so soon! Oh, by the way, the disease is also HIGHLY contagious… Good luck." With that, Monokuma left, leaving the rest of them to stare at each other in shock.

"H-he's right though! We need to get these three to the hospital right away! I'm not too sure how to treat this though! It's a new disease that I've never seen before… Oh! It doesn't matter I'm going to help them!" The nurse cried, gently pulling the three sick people along with her. However, before she could get far Hajime collapsed, hitting the ground with a painful sounding thud.

Immediately, Mikan ran to help him up but she wasn't strong enough.

"Let me help." Nagito offered, running over and gently lifting Hajime up. Hajime wasn't exactly light, but far from something Nagito couldn't handle. Izuru was curled in on himself, crying harder than ever. Nagito, with his hands full couldn't do much, and he felt bad. But relaxed a little when Nekomaru approached the crying teen.

"Izuru! You shouldn't cry! Everything will be fine as long as Mikan takes care of you all! Come on, let's get you to the hospital!" The coach urged, but Izuru shook his head and began to mutter something unintelligible. But Nekomaru seemed to catch it. "Izuru, you have nothing to worry about with Mikan! She wouldn't hurt a fly!"

When Izuru didn't make a move Nekomaru merely threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran towards the hospital, with the others close behind. It seemed to take forever to get to the hospital, but by the time they did Hajime had regained consciousness, but still looked very out of it.

"I-I'll help them into some gowns, you all wait here!" Mikan said, rather forcefully, before leaving.

"What… should we do? I mean, this isn't something we can prevent! A disease? And it's contagious too! I mean, if it were just the bugs we could use bug spray but we've all been near the ones that got infected!" Mahiru yelled, her hair a mess from running.

"For now, we quarantine the infected, as well as the ones who touched them, meaning Nekomaru, Nagito and Mikan." Byakuya declared.

"Quarantine? You mean lock 'em up or something?" Akane asked. "Isn't that a little unfair? They might get lonely!"

"No… it's a good idea, I mean, it'd be bad if we all got sick. Plus… we shouldn't stay in our cottages either, since they might be contaminated too… I think…" Chiaki muttered, a worried look on her otherwise calm face. Everyone else nodded, including Nagito and Nekomaru, seeing the logic in them being quarantined.

"I agree. The motel would be our best bet. But… what if the ones who aren't ill and who haven't touch them going to do if there is an emergency? We won't know." Gundam mused, looking around at the others.

"Couldn't Kazuichi set up some kind of communication device between the hospital and somewhere else? After all, Nekomaru and I would most likely stay here since we're in quarantine, so we'd just some kind of way to communicate with you guys that way." Nagito suggested, looking right at Kazuichi.

"Well, it's possible, there are some spare parts on this island, I could try and set something up." The mechanic replied. Byakuya nodded, looking proud.

"I'm glad to see you all thinking for once. Very well, Myself, Chiaki, Kazuichi, Mahiru, Akane, Gundam, and Fuyuhiko will stay at the motel, since Fuyuhiko isn't here I shall tell him right away. Nagito, Mikan and Nekomaru shall stay at the hospital with Hajime, Izuru and Ibuki. Is this agreed?"

"Yes." Everyone replied, nodding. Everyone aside from Nekomaru and Nagito bid farewell and left the hospital, a silence left in their wake.

"I can see that you're concerned, you shouldn't be! After all, those three are strong, they'll survive this." Nekomaru yelled, smiling widely at Nagito. The white haired boy blinked, surprised that Nekomaru had seen his worry.

"I know that, still, I can't help but worry for them. This is a kind of disease that no one but Monokuma has heard of before. We don't even know if this disease has a cure…" He honestly didn't want anyone to die from something like this, it was such a pointless death to die.

While Nagito did feel like someone dying would create a great hope after the fact, part of him felt like any kind of death on this island was pointless. After writing that note and seeing how Sonia's death affected everyone, it made him feel a bit… guilty for starting the whole thing.

He had been planning on his death that night, or at the very least, him to kill someone. However, when Izuru and Sonia had gotten the job instead of him, he'd felt relieved that his plan had not worked, part of him still afraid. Though he felt like it would have been for the sake of a greater hope for someone to die, all the deaths so far felt meaningless.

They had given the others the determination to not let another killing happen yes, and it seemed like that determination was growing with each day, it still felt unsatisfying, like there was no hope being created. While the despair lasted for a while after a death, it faded, turning into spite. It felt like they were only living to spite Monokuma.

Nagito was broken out of his musings by the door opening, as Mikan stepped out.

"Oh? Where is everyone else?" She asked. Nekomaru explained the situation to her. "I see… well, everyone's in bed, though I did have to give Izuru a mild sedative to help calm him down. He's probably asleep right now. Hajime passed out again so I'm going to keep an eye on him. Ibuki went to sleep as soon as I told her to rest."

"That's good… they need as much rest as they can get right now." Nagito sighed as he said this, looking at the ground.

"Don't look so sad! Their conditions are stable as of now and I'll let you guys know if that changes, promise!" Mikan replied to him, looking worried.

"I understand, thank you Mikan. Nekomaru and I will wait here OK?" He said, giving her the best smile he could muster at the moment.

"Yes! We'll help you with anything you need as well! If you need our help with anything just let us know!" The coach yelled, but quieted when Mikan scolded him for being too loud in a hospital.

The coach and the lucky student sat in the lobby for the next few hours after that, and at one point Nekomaru left and got some cards from the supermarket, though it was more of a one sided game as Nagito kept winning.

The nighttime announcement seemed to come much later than usual, and with it, Monokuma appeared in the room.

"What are you two still doing here?! Get out!" The bear screamed.

"But, we're-" Nagito was interrupted.

"Did neither of you read the sign?!" Monokuma yelled, pointing to the poster on the wall. Nagito looked and it said that only one visitor could stay but only if it was a dire situation.

"Well… with Hajime's condition being a bit unstable, Mikan needs to stay. Nekomaru and I can go back to our cottages, but Mikan needs to stay." Nagito argued to the bear. Monokuma growled but just left, and so the two students took that as a yes.

"I guess we go now… this sucks though. Hopefully Kazuichi comes up with something to let us communicate…" Nagito said, looking at the floor.

"I hope so as well, but for now, we need some rest as well. We can't help the others if we're exhausted as well." Nekomaru replied, pulling Nagito along back to the first island and their cottages.

"Get some rest, I'll come get you in the morning." The coach ordered, not leaving room for argument, then went into his cottage.

Nagito sighed and did the same, collapsing on his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologize for the short chapter and long wait time. However… shit's been going down in life and it gave me 0 motivation at all. I've also decided to skip the exploring the island segments at least for now due to the fact that this fic will go on for like, 100 chapters if we keep going at this pace. So… I'm sorry.


	26. Announcement

OK, I hate to do this but this fic is going to go on a small hiatus, I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment. I'll be back eventually!


	27. Sneak Peek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I'm not dead! And I haven't updated this in a while... It took me much longer than I wanted it to for me to get my mojo back. But here and I am. I'm going to be starting on the next few chapters and editing them, and then uploading them once a week... That's the plan at least. But for now, have a sneak peek of an upcoming chapter.

The project had failed. They had tried to make a student with every talent imaginable. Someone worthy of the name "Izuru Kamukura". But something went wrong, horribly wrong, and now here was Jin Kirigiri, being forced to sign a fake death certificate of one of his students. 

What was he going to tell the boy's parents? The official cause of death was suicide, the boy jumped into a nearby river and they were unable to locate the body. It wasn't even close to the truth of the matter, but he'd been told that a lie was more merciful to the family. 

Jin put his head into his hands and sighed. How had he let himself be talked into this? It was his job to protect his students and help their talents grow, but this... 

He wasn't sure if agreeing to the experiment or lying about what _really_ happened to the student was the thing that was going to send him to hell, or if it was both.

Somewhere, blood red eyes stared into ice blue ones. The red eyes were full of anger and hatred, while the blue were full of mischief and satisfaction. 

Two hands met in a shake, neither party truly trusting the other, but not caring.

Who knew one boy could spark the end of the world.


	28. Beta Search

OK, I was editing some of the previous chapters and I realized how many errors there were. So, I've decided to search for a beta reader. If any of you would like to do so, message me on my Tumblr and we can discuss it. Hopefully I can find a beta soon so I can get the next chapter out. My Tumblr is: http://kittyissac.tumblr.com/


	29. Hospital Visit

When Nagito woke up his head was throbbing with a sharp pain, making him groan. It wasn’t unusual for him to wake up with a headache but this one seemed worse than it normally was. As he remembered the events of the previous day he briefly worried that he’d caught the so called “Despair Fever”. 

He sat up and ran to the bathroom, looking around in the drawers for a thermometer. When he found it and took his temperature he sighed in relief to see that it was normal. With his immune system the way it was he was a bit surprised that he hadn’t caught it.

Sighing heavily and running a hand through his hair, Nagito got ready for the day. 

As soon as he stepped out of his cottage Nekomaru greeted him, his loud voice making Nagito’s head throb even worse.

“GOOD MORNING NAGITO! ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER DAY?” The coach boomed. Nagito wanted to say something rude in return but only gave a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m really worried about the others. I hope it wears off soon.” He said in return. Nekomaru suddenly patted him on the back, nearly sending Nagito flying with how strong the pat was. 

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Mikan will take good care of them. She may be a bit clumsy at times but she is passionate about her job.” Nagito nodded at the coach’s words. 

Mikan was a good nurse, perhaps a bit overbearing, but good at what she did nonetheless. Nagito just hoped that even without a doctor the three sick students would be alright.

“We should go visit them… Oh, before I forget. Izuru said something yesterday right before we went to the hospital. Before you carried him off. What did he say?” At Nagito’s question Nekomaru looked confused but then seemed to remember.

“Oh, yes! Well, it was kind of hard to understand but from what I could gather he seemed afraid of Mikan, like she was going to kill him or Hajime if we left them alone with her.” He explained. “I have no idea why. I know Monokuma said he had the “Coward’s disease” but he seemed especially afraid of Mikan…” 

Nekomaru spoke as they walked to the third island, with Nagito silent the whole way. Why was Izuru so scared of Mikan? Did it have something to do with her being a nurse? The more he thought about it the less things made sense. 

As soon as they got to the hospital, Mikan rushed over, teary eyed.

“Nagito, Nekomaru! I need your help! Izuru’s locked himself in Hajime’s room and he won’t let me in! I-I was thinking maybe you two could talk him into letting me in so I can check on Hajime?” Mikan’s voice was frantic, and it sounded like she’d been crying for a while now.

“M-Mikan, calm down. Let’s go over there and see if we can get Izuru to open up. Maybe if we tell him that we’re there with you he’ll let you check on Hajime.” Nagito wasn’t entirely sure of his own words, but it wasn’t a good idea to let Mikan know that with how panicked she was.

“R-right! This way!” Mikan led them to the hallway, where it was mostly silent aside from a few sounds of machinery and their own breathing. She stopped in front of a door and knocked gently.

“I-Izuru? It’s me, Mikan. I brought Nagito and Nekomaru.” 

There was shuffling from behind the door before a soft voice answered.

“G-go away… leave us alone.” It was Izuru’s voice, but it sounded wrong. Nagito was used to Izuru being calm and stoic, very rarely showing how he really felt. But this voice… it sounded terrified and hoarse like he’d been screaming and crying for hours. 

Nagito stepped up to the door, gently pushing Mikan aside so he could speak.

“Izuru, it’s Nagito. Can you let us in please? We just want to make sure that Hajime is OK. I know you’re afraid, especially of Mikan, but you can’t help Hajime by yourself. Me and Nekomaru will come in with Mikan, so you don’t have to be afraid.” 

There was a long pause, long enough for Nagito to wonder if Izuru had even heard him, before the door unlocked. Nagito opened the door to see Izuru dressed in a hospital gown sitting on the side of the bed.

Hajime was laying on the bed, eyes closed and paler than Nagito had ever seen him. 

Mikan immediately tried to run over to Hajime, but Izuru stopped her, his arm shooting out.

The nurse ran into his arm with a small ‘oomph’. Izuru’s eyes were wide and fearful, a few tears running down his cheeks. 

Nekomaru walked over to the bed and put a hand onto Izuru’s shoulder, nearly making the sick boy jump out of his skin.

“It’s alright Izuru, I don’t understand why you’re so scared of Mikan, but she won’t hurt you or Hajime.” He tried to sooth. Izuru shook his head violently, his hair slapping himself in the face a few times.

“N-no… she-she’ll kill him. I know it. She’ll hurt…” As Izuru said this Mikan was sobbing, not understanding why Izuru was so afraid.

“Izuru, it’s alright, we won’t let her hurt either of you. I promise. If she tries anything, we’ll stop her.” Nagito said, walking over and smiling at Izuru. Said boy looked up and blinked a few times before reluctantly setting his arm down, keeping his eyes on Mikan. 

With that, the nurse began to check on the unconscious boy. 

“He’s-He’s still unconscious, but his fever’s gone down at least! And it looks like his ribs are only a little bruised from that-” Mikan cut herself off, looking sheepish. She looked at Nekomaru and Nagito, the former of whom only looked confused. The latter made a zipping motion over his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

“A-anyway! He looks like he should recover pretty well… well, at least as far as I know. He’s not at risk for dying at the very least.” 

“Aw man! That’s so fucking lame!” Everyone jumped at the new voice in the room and looked over to the corner where Monokuma was standing, looking furious.

“Are you shitting me right now? He’s not gonna die?! That’s so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!” The bear yelled, while Mikan tried to shush him.

“P-please be quiet! Hajime needs to rest!” Mikan cried, apparently not noticing how loud she herself was being. 

“No way! This is so lame! I expected at least ONE of you bastards to die from this but not one of these guys is going to die?! I must be the unluckiest bear alive!” The bear’s tone had suddenly shifted from furious to depressed. 

“Well, that’s good for us then. If you’re depressed that must mean we’re doing something right.” Nagito replied, crossing his arms. 

“Watch it marshmallow head.” Monokuma growled, baring his claws.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wondering. Ibuki and Izuru’s symptoms are interesting. I mean, making Izuru, one of the most stoic and brave people on this island break down in tears almost every second. And making Ibuki, one of the most rebellious people on this island be so polite and obedient… did you specifically choose those symptoms?” 

“Hmm… well, truthfully I had very little to do in terms of choosing which symptoms went to whom, if I had a choice I would’ve made it so ALL of you were infected with something deadly. But, imagine my delight when this stoic fuck-o became a giant crybaby! It’s almost too perfect! Upupupu!” Holding his belly Monokuma doubled over in laughter, making chills go up Nagito’s spine.

It was a laugh full of mirth at another’s despair. 

Despite his recent doubts about his previous actions, he still felt anger and resentment towards Monokuma’s attempts to make them fall into despair. And seeing what Izuru was going through now, only made that anger grow. 

Despair would only lead to a greater hope in the future, he knew that. But right now… it hurt to see one of his only, and first, friends in such a state.

Nagito took his eyes off the bear and looked over to Izuru, who was clutching Hajime’s hand so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His eyes were clamped tightly shut, but tears still managed to escape from the corners. 

“It’s going to be alright Izuru. You two will get better soon, I promise.” He said, putting his left hand on the other boy’s shoulder gently.

 

Fear. No, terror. Despair, guilt. These feelings rushed around inside Izuru’s head in a daze, blurring together into a jumble of emotions that leaked out of his eyes without his consent. Despite how ashamed he was of showing this level of emotion he couldn’t stop it.

He flinched away from Mikan when she tried to put a hand on his head, the image of her with a sick and twisted smile on her face flashing in his mind, contrasting with her tear stained face in front of him. 

He couldn’t stop the shivers going through his body that he couldn’t tell if it was from fear or the fever.

Another image flashed in his mind. Blood. So much blood. On him, on others, on the corpses around him. Blood staining the white hair of a certain boy. Hajime, nowhere in sight. 

Hajime… Hajime… Gone… can’t find him… where is he? He’s dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. DeAD DEaD DEAD DeaD DeAd. 

No… No… He’s… right there. Asleep… unconscious… sick just like him. He’s fine. Fine. Everything is fine. 

Hajime is safe. Nagito… Nagito is there. His hand is on Izuru’s shoulder, comforting, albeit slightly cold. It feels good against his too hot skin.

But… it feels wrong somehow. It almost feels like _her_ hand. He remembers. A saw, so much blood, crunching noises, choked back whimpers of pain and a hand that doesn’t belong on that body. 

He blinks a few times and the feeling of _wrong_ is gone. He doesn’t feel the fake nails on this hand anymore, just slightly too long and too sharp normal ones.

He… he has to focus. He has to be able to distinguish the memories (hallucinations?) from what is happening now. 

Mikan isn’t trying to inject him or Hajime with some kind of poison. Nagito has both his hands. Nekomaru isn’t about to crush his skull.

He’s OK.

He can hear talking. Someone who isn’t Nagito, Mikan or Nekomaru.

Monokuma…

That damn bear. Everything about that bear terrifies him. Makes him tremble and want to run away. But his legs won’t listen, too afraid to move from his spot. 

Nagito’s hand tightens on his shoulder, rubbing a small circle on his back with his thumb.

Somehow, it doesn’t make him feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rather short chapter, mainly because I had issues writing Nagito.   
> Beta reader position is still open btw!


	30. Poll is up!

Hey guys, I set up a poll to hear about who you guys want to live to the end of the story. Based on your answers it may change the outcome of the story!  
Here's the link to the poll:

https://goo.gl/forms/eXtlxMsD8DW8dQUw1


	31. Poll Results are in!

We got a total of 105 votes. I wanted to close the poll at 100 exactly but oh well. Here are the results!  
Nagito came in at first with 34 votes.  
Chiaki and Gundam are tied at second, both with 17  
Ibuki is in third with 16, just barely behind Chiaki and Gundam  
Fuyuhiko is in fourth with 7  
Kazuichi is in fifth with 6   
Twogami is in sixth with 4   
Mikan is in seventh with 2  
Mahiru and Nekomaru are tied for either with one vote each  
And poor Akane is in last, with no votes.

What does this mean? Well, it doesn’t guarantee that the most voted for characters are going to live. It just lets me know who you guys would be most distraught over if I killed them. So, naturally, at least one of the top five are going to die~

Thanks for all your votes and happy angstaween!


	32. Hello Mr. Atbash

Hajime had woken up the next day, he was dazed and his voice hoarse. When the news broke that Hajime was awake, many of the students rushed to the hospital to visit and check on him.

Byakuya was the first to arrive at the hospital. He approached Mikan, who was carrying several bottles of various medications in her arms.

“Mikan, how is Hajime?” He asked, startling the nurse who hadn’t heard him enter the hall. 

“U-um… well, he’s surprisingly OK. His fever isn’t as high as it had been the last few days. He’s still a bit dazed as well. But other than that he seems normal. He doesn’t have any out of the ordinary symptoms so far.” She informed, fumbling with the bottles in her arms.

“Interesting. I want to take a look at him.” Byakuya wanted to see this for himself, to make sure that Hajime was alright. Despite how cold and arrogant he could seem, he did care for his classmates.

“Huh? But you might get sick!” Mikan protested.

“Give me a respirator mask then. I want to see this for myself.” He ordered in a stern tone. Mikan jumped a bit before rushing off and returning with a thick respirator. He put it on, following the girl to Hajime’s room.

Upon entering he immediately heard the sounds of sniffling. Izuru’s mood shift hadn’t left yet it seemed. The twins heads turned towards the door.

“Wh-what do you want?” Izuru whimpered, clinging to his brother’s arm tightly. 

“B-Byakuya wanted to check on Hajime. He was worried.” Mikan explained.

“But… Byakuya’s dead?” Hajime spoke up, his voice hoarse and laced with confusion.

“I can assure you I’m very much alive.” Said heir stepped into the room, arms crossed. Hajime looked utterly shocked, blinking slowly.

“But-But, Teruteru killed you! He stabbed you with a skewer! At the party in the old hotel building!” He protested, starting to get more and more upset. 

“H-Hajime, Teruteru killed Sonia, remember? He tricked her into eating poison.” Mikan reminded, going up to Hajime and putting her hand on his forehead. 

“But… I remember Teruteru… and Nagito started it all and…” 

“Nagito? What does he have to do with this?” Byakuya asked, eyebrows scrunching up.

“He sent the note. The one that said there would be a murder. He was going to kill someone the night of the party. He hid a knife in the old building when he was helping set things up. Teruteru found out and was going to kill Nagito but Byakuya got in the way!” Hajime’s voice was slowly rising as he spoke. Everyone in the room was shocked into silence. Until finally Byakuya spoke again.

“Hajime… who was the second person murdered? After Teruteru’s execution.”

“It was Mahiru. Peko killed her because Mahiru helped cover up Fuyuhiko’s sister’s death. And… and…” Speaking about the deaths seemed to shake some dust off of the gears in Hajime’s addled mind. He suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide in terror. “And… Mikan is going to kill Ibuki and Hiyoko!” 

Everyone in the room was shocked at his, before Izuru suddenly curled around his brother tighter, shaking and giving fearful looks towards Mikan. He was obviously terrified, but still had enough courage to protect his brother from a perceived threat.

Byakuya, taking a deep breath, spoke up. “Hajime, Hiyoko Saionji is already dead. She killed Peko Pekoyama and was executed.” 

But Hajime wasn’t listening. He continued to ramble on, not making much sense to those in the room with him. “G-Gundam is going to kill Nekomaru. R-robot Nekomaru. He gets hurt and put in a robot body and Gundam kills him. Then-then Nagito is going to die. Chiaki is gonna kill him by accident. There’s so much blood…” 

“H-Hajime you need to calm down! No one’s going to die!” Mikan rushed over to the bed but was blocked by Izuru. “Izuru, please, I just wanna give Hajime a shot that’ll calm him down.” 

“D-do-don’t touch him.” Despite the fear in his eyes, his shaking and the tremor in his voice, Izuru held firm. 

“Izuru, let Mikan give him the shot. It’ll calm him down.”

“No!” 

“I-I’m sorry Izuru!” Mikan suddenly pulled out a syringe and injected Izuru with some kind of drug. When he flinched back she took another syringe and did the same to Hajime. Very quickly the two boys were unconscious. 

“I can see how you earned your title. That was rather efficient. It seems that Hajime’s symptoms are hallucinations and false memories?” Byakuya pushed his glasses up as he thought more. 

“It-it seems that way.” Mikan looked equally as thoughtful before she gasped, remembering something suddenly. “I-I was supposed to give Ibuki her lunch ten minutes ago! I-I gotta go! Thank you for coming over Byakuya!” With that said, the nurse rushed off, losing a shoe along the way.

Byakuya sighed, exiting the hospital and taking his respirator off as he did. He bumped into Nagito upon doing so, the Luckster apologizing profusely. What Hajime said in the hospital were only the ramblings of a sick man, however…

“Nagito, I need to speak to you.” Nagito looked confused.

“What about? I don’t know what you’d want to talk about with someone like me…” 

“Let’s gather the others first, I’d rather speak about this matter with them as well.” Not giving Nagito a chance to say anything the Heir began to knock on everyone’s motel doors, ordering them to the music venue. On their way in, he handed them each a respirator. Once everyone was gathered, he began to speak.

“Do you remember the party? And the reason why we had the party in the first place?” Everyone nodded.

“Yeah, you got that weird letter saying someone would die.” Akane said, hand on her hip. “What about it? Didn't Teruteru write it? I mean, he _was_ the culprit.

“See, I was under the same impression, however, new evidence has come to light about the true author of that note. I cannot confirm on whether or not this is true or not, as the person who gave me the info is currently in the hospital with a sickness that causes false memories and hallucinations. However, I still have to confirm or deny this.” 

“Wait, so Hajime told you something about it? How would he know?” Mahiru asked, curious.

“Mahiru, how’d you know that it was Hajime that knew that?” Nekomaru asked in turn.

“Well, he’s the only one who’s symptoms we didn’t know about. Izuru’s was that he became really sensitive, Ibuki was… well super polite and submissive, so that only leaves Hajime obviously.”

“We’re getting off topic! Yes, it was Hajime that told me about this. Most of what he was talking about was nonsense but this one piece of information concerned me.” He turned to Nagito. “He said that _Nagito_ was the one who wrote and sent that letter. And had planned to plant a knife in the old building during the clean up, in order to kill.”

Akane cut off any response Nagito would have had. “Hold on a sec, we drew straws to see who’d be cleaning, how could he be sure that he’d be the one to clean?” 

“Nagito is the Super High School Level Lucky Student. He could have been relying on his talent to get the short straw. That’s what Hajime told me. Of course, luck can only go so far. What do you have to say to that Nagito?” Byakuya crossed his arms, leveling the smaller boy with a glare.

Nagito was silent for a long time before bursting out in giggles. Giggles soon turned into full blown laughter. The laughter soon died down again into small giggles.

“Wow! I can’t believe Hajime was the one to figure that out. Yes, I sent that letter. I planned to kill someone but I guess I was just really unlucky that time.” A manic smile stretched across Nagito’s face, unnerving everyone in the room.

“What the fuck man?!” Kazuichi screamed, absolutely horrified by the sight in front of him. “Why would you do that?!”

“Because! I was hoping that a death and the despair it brings… would give you symbols of hope a stepping stone to shine even brighter! That was my only motivation!”

There was silence in the room for a few moments.

“Then why send a letter?” Chiaki spoke up, her voice soft. Nagito looked a bit surprised at this question but his smile softened a little.

“I suppose… deep down I wash hoping I’d get caught… that someone would stop my evil deeds before it was too late.” 

“So… you weren’t that confident in what you were doing were you?” The gamer offered, making Nagito look a bit sheepish.

“I suppose not. I can honestly say I was a bit relieved in that I was lucky enough to not draw the short stick.” Everyone still stared at the Lucky Student for a long time. It was Fuyuhiko who finally spoke.

“You are one fucked up son of a bitch you know that right?” Nagito only laughed dryly.

“I know that. I understand better than anyone else that I'm ultimately worthless. I'm too arrogant to have dreams or cling to hope... I'm too disdainful to actually try at anything... I've made peace with the fact that I'm a lowly, stupid, insignificant human who can't do anything right.” There was another beat of silence before Chiaki approached Nagito, slapping him hard enough that a large mark was left on his cheek.

“Nagito, don’t ever say that about yourself again. You’re our friend, so don’t you put yourself down like that.”

“Friend?! He was gonna kill one of us!” Kazuichi protested.

“I don’t think he would have. Even if he had planned to, I don’t think he would have gone through with it.” Chiaki explained. 

Nagito was still a bit shocked that Chiaki had slapped him, but he recovered quickly. “So… now that you know, what are you going to do with me?”

“Well, we can’t just let you continue to do as you please. However, I’m against locking you away completely. From now on you’ll be accompanied by at least myself, Nekomaru, or Akane at all times.”

“Hey! Why us?” Akane protested. 

“We three are the strongest out of our group, I’m not entirely sure that the others would be able to overpower him if need be.” Byakuya explained. “The only other person would be Izuru but obviously, he’s unavailable at the moment. Kazuichi!”

The mechanic jumped almost a foot in the air. “Wh-what?”

“Can you make some kind of device that would both track Nagito’s movements and not allow him to be outside a certain distance from the rest of us?” Byakuya asked.

“Err… I’m pretty sure I could make something like that. I’ll have to look around the alley to look for materials.” The mechanic explained, scratching behind his head.

“Very well, until then, Nagito, you are to stay with Nekomaru for the time being. You and he are the only ones who do not have to wear respirators around each other. Nekomaru, I trust you can handle this?” 

“Of course! I’ll make sure the guy doesn’t get into any trouble.” 

“Excellent, you are all dismissed.” At those words, several things happened, Kazuichi fled from the building, obviously eager to get away from Nagito, who was smiling rather creepily. Nekomaru had grabbed the Lucky Student by the middle and threw him over his shoulder, walking out of the room, mumbling something about Nagito being too light. 

Slowly, everyone else left the room, leaving only Chiaki and Byakuya left.

Several minutes passed, as Chiaki took out her Game Girl and began to play. Meanwhile, Byakuya did another investigation of the venue, checking for things the others might of missed. Finally, after about 20 minutes of mostly silence, Chiaki spoke up.

“I’m surprised you took what Hajime said so seriously. Especially since you mentioned something about false memories.” Chiaki asked, hands in her pockets. “Speaking of, what kind of false memories?”

“Yes, well, it was something that concerned me. I couldn’t ignore it in good conscience. As for the false memories, he believed that I had died at the party, and that Peko had been the culprit in the second murder, and Mahiru the victim.”

“Really? How strange… I wonder why that happened, it’s so specific.”

“Indeed, I believe-”

**Ding Dong Bing Bong**

The now familiar bell sounded off, freezing them both in their tracks. 

“No…”

“Dammit!”

“We’ve got a corpse here! After a certain amount of time, a class trial will occur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m baaaaack. Explanation, there were some complications after my surgery and I’m only recently starting to feel better. I’m very sorry. Before I go, I have two messages.  
> First: Check out this amazing fanart that someone made for one of the scenes in this story: https://chatorazawa.tumblr.com/post/170706726027/fanart-for-kittyissac-their-stories-are-really  
> Second: Hl nfxs xszmtvh, bvg hl nfxs hgzbh gsv hznv. Lmv lu gsv hznv nfhg wrv.  
> *Made a small edit to fix a plot hole that I hadn't realized I'd made*


	33. Murder Mystery Theater

Rushing out of the music venue, Byakuya looked around, searching for a sign of his classmates. Chiaki was quick on his heels. 

“Do you know where it could have happened?” Chiaki asked, gripping the straps of her backpack tightly.

“No. Dammit! Monomi!” With Byakuya’s shout said pink rabbit appeared. 

“Y-yes?”

“Don’t give me that. You heard the announcement too didn’t you? Do you know where the others and the body are?” 

Monomi began to sob, pulling her ears over her eyes. “Y-yes… the-the movie theater. Everyone else is already there. Please hurry!” Byakuya didn’t reply to the rabbit as he started off. Chiaki hurried after him, though lagged behind as he was surprisingly fast. 

When Monomi said that everyone was there, she meant everyone. This included Hajime and Izuru, who were both in their normal clothes. 

Hajime was standing a bit farther away from the group, clearly still exhausted. 

Izuru’s eyes were still slightly red and puffy, but his expression was his usual blank slate. 

“You guys are here? Are you feeling better?” Chiaki asked upon approaching the brothers.

Hajime smiled a little at her. “Yeah, it was weird. I woke up still feeling not so great but better than I had been in the last few days. Izuru was already up and about. He was getting dressed when Mikan bust into our room. She… told us what had happened.” His smile faded as he glanced over to the door of the theater room. 

The only people absent from their group was Mikan and Ibuki. 

“Mikan is in the theater now performing her autopsy. She forbid any of us going in there until she was done.” Izuru spoke up, hands in his pockets. 

“So… that means…” Chiaki’s voice was soft, clearly understanding what had happened.

“Ibuki Mioda is dead.” Gundam confirmed, looking at the ground as he leaned against the doorframe. Kazuichi was standing next to him, tugging on the zipper of his fully zipped jumpsuit nervously, looking around the room with distrustful eyes. 

“Dammit! That’s the third time…” Byakuya was upset immensely. “The third time I’ve failed to prevent a killing…” 

“Byakuya, it’s not your fault.” Hajime tried to soothe.

“I’m the leader of this group! I should have done more. Even when I do try to prevent a death I end up getting tricked.”

“You’re talking about that note that Nagito sent yes? You can hardly be blamed for falling for that. You took as many precautions as you could.” Izuru’s tone was less comforting but the intent was clear.

“Still…” 

“Wait, how do you know about that?” Chiaki asked.

“When we got here we saw that everyone was looking at Nagito funny so we asked what happened. They told us about the meeting. It was… awkward.” Hajime explained, glancing over at Nagito who was still being carefully watched over by Nekomaru.

The sound of doors opening made everyone’s heads turn towards Mikan exiting the theater room, her hands shaking a bit.

“Um… I finished… I-”

“Finally! Jeez, you sure take your time. If I’d known you take so long to do your little ‘autopsy’ I would’ve just come out and given you the file straight away.” Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Monokuma interrupted Mikan, eye flashing red.

“Eek!” The nurse squealed and jumped back, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground with a thump.

“Ahem, anyway. As you can see those who were sick, barring the dead one, have been cured!” 

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious.” Kazuichi, who’d been standing closest to Mikan when she fell over, stated as he helped her up, wincing slightly as he did so. “Why is that anyway?”

“Well, if they were sick they wouldn’t be able to attend the class trial! So, I healed them! I’ve a level ten after all! Now, for what you’ve all been waiting for…. The Monokuma File numero tres!” The bear pulled out pads from somewhere unknown and handed one to each of them.

“So… one of us did in fact kill her.” Izuru asked, scanning over the information.

“Yeppers! Oooh, this is so much fun! It was going to be sooooo boring if one of you schmucks died from a fever or something. We wouldn’t have even get to have had a class trial if that happened. But lucky me one of you guys decided to find the mute button on that brat! See you soon.” With that, the bear left.

Hajime shuddered, still somehow not used to the bear’s sadism. He pulled out the Monokuma File.

**The victim was Ibuki Mioda, the Super High School Level Musician**  
**The victim’s body was discovered in the Movie Theater on the Third Island**  
**The time of death was between 2:30 and 3:00.**  
**The cause of death was a blow to the right temple**  
**Scratch marks were found on both of her arms.**  
**Small wounds also cover her feet**

“2:30 to 3:00… That was around right after Byakuya ended the meeting we had.” Fuyuhiko mumbled.

“So… that means that no one has an alibi aside from me and Hajime, who were both still sick at the time. And Mikan who was still at the hospital taking care of the sick.” Izuru said. 

“Chiaki and myself do. Her and I remained in the Music Venue until we heard the body discovery announcement.” 

“So me, Izuru, Chiaki, Byakuya and Mikan all have alibis.” Hajime listed, looking around the room.

“We can discuss alibis more at the trial. For now, we investigate.” Izuru interrupted his brother, sliding the pad into his pocket. 

 

**INVESTIGATION START**

The first thing that Hajime noticed was the faint marks on the floor of the lobby. They were faint, and already dried, but they were unmistakably blood marks. 

“It looks like Ibuki was dragged here… the marks lead from the front door of the building to the theater room….” 

Moving away from the floor Hajime started to look around the rest of the lobby. In the trash can there was a blood soaked towel, the tag on it revealed that the towel came from the hospital.

“Hajime, come with me. I want to inspect the body some more. Just in case Mikan missed something.” Izuru said, motioning for his brother to follow him. Hajime followed his brother into the room, mentally bracing himself for the scene he was about to see. 

Ibuki’s body was laying on the aisle of the room, still dressed in her hospital gown. Blood covered the right side of her face and most of her body. Drag marks led from her body to the door. Unlike the ones in the lobby these ones were not faint at all. 

“Poor Ibuki…” Hajime muttered, wincing as he saw just how bad the wound on her head was. The sight brought back _memories_ of the previous murder. Izuru however seemed unfazed as he knelt next to her. There was a small crunching sound as Hajime too stepped closer. 

Looking down he saw that he’d stepped on some broken glass. Looking closer, he found more broken glass embedded in Ibuki’s bare feet. Also stuck to her foot was a small piece of metal with a copper wire attached.

“Broken glass? Where did that come from? And what’s this metal thing…?” He mumbled to himself. 

“The wound itself isn’t that big, but it’s deep. About an inch thick and about two inches deep. She probably died on impact. The scratches on her arms aren’t that deep. They’re more severe on the right side however.” Izuru observed. 

“What do you think about the glass. And the metal thing?” Hajime pointed it out. Izuru examined it for a moment.

“This looks like part of an old TV. Wait… TV… Haj-” 

*Bing Bong Ding Dong*

“Attention everyone! The class trial will be beginning soon, so please, head over to Monokuma rock on the central island!” 

Izuru groaned softly. 

“Tell me at the trial, we don’t need Monokuma literally dragging us to the trial.” Hajime mumbled, helping his brother up.

Truth Bullets:  
**Monokuma File #3  
** **Blood stains  
** **Hospital Towel  
** **Glass  
** **Metal object**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yiyciqik aj popa pgzk bojb, ggyi nots xg tmy ok tekf


	34. Belief Without Doubt

The elevator ride to the courtroom was deathly silent. Nobody spoke or even looked at each other, either keeping their eyes fixed on the ground or straight ahead of them. 

Nagito was **s** tanding between Nekomaru and Akane, the two of them acting as his guards. Despite the situation he was smiling. He was the only one out of all of them that looked at the others. 

Everyone else had a look of fear and sadness on their faces, or, in the case of some of their more serious members, stoic determination. 

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slowly opened to the once again redecorated courtroom. It now looked more like the interior of a castle, and the lighting was a sickly yellow color.

“This is even worse than the last one.” Mahiru mumbled, walking up to her spot. 

“Really? I think it’s an improvement.” Fuyuhiko r **e** sponded sarcastically. 

“You weren’t even here though.” 

“Akane… that was the joke.” Hajime responded, rubbing his temples. His head still hurt from a mixture of the drugs still going through his system and the illness.

“Shut yer traps! It’s time to start the trial! But first, let’s open up with a brief explanation of the class trial. The result is determined by-”

“Monokuma, we’ve gone through this twi **c** e already, we know how it works.” Hajime interrupted, crossing his arms. “Let’s just… get this over with.” 

“Alright then! Time to place your votes!” Monokuma laughed, high pitched and awful. Hajime choked on his own spit and hurried to backtrack.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant! Let’s just get to the trial! Please.” 

“Oh fine. Get to it!”

“Firstly, let’s confirm something. What time did you all have your meeting?” Izuru asked.

“If I recall correctly, it was about 2. The meeting ended between 2:30 and 2:40. There was about a twenty minute gap between the end of the meeting and the body discovery announcement.” Byakuya informed.

“So, between 2:50 and 3 was the time of the announcement. And the time of death was between 2:30 and 3. That basically tells us that anyone who wasn’t sick or with someone else has no albi.” Hajime mumbled. “Izuru and I were sick, and I’m pretty sure that Mikan was there the whole time.”

“Nekoma **r** u was guarding me, so he and I both have alibis.” Nagito explained. 

“Me and Byakuya stayed in the music venue until the announcement.” 

“So that leaves Mahiru, Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, Akane and Gundam without an alibi. You four, what were you doing during that time?” Byakuya asked.

“Hang on a second, you’re saying that the whole thing happened between 2:30 and 3 right? Well… I remember seeing Mikan around that time. She was over by Electric Alley” Akane protested, looking over at the nurse. “She looked like she was looking for something.”

“Th-that’s when I’d realized that Ibuki was gone. I went to go looking for her. I was really worried about leaving Hajime and Izuru by themselves, b-but I couldn’t just let Ibuki wander around on her own!” 

“Why didn’t you come tell one of us? We would have helped you look.” Mahiru ask **e** d.

“I-I didn’t want to bother anyone. It was m-my fault, I didn’t pay enough attention to her.”

“Akane, you’re avoiding the question, where were you during that time?” Byakuya pressed.

“I was getting to that! I was going back to the Motel when I saw Mikan. I was in my motel room the whole time.” 

“Nobody can confirm that however. In fact… we can’t confirm anyone’s alibi.” Byakuya looked very unhappy with that realization.

“Let’s focus less on everyone’s alibis and move on to the crime scene… or what we thought was the crime scene.” Izuru spoke up.

“What do you mean? The movie theater wasn’t where the crime occured?” Gundam asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Correct. We discovered blood marks leading from the front door of the lobby to the body. Most of the blood was cleaned up afterwards, making the marks very fain **t**.”

“But we didn’t see any blood marks outside though?” Akane protested.Hajime thought for a long moment before realizing something.

“Izuru, do you remember the towel we found? And how soaked it was with blood? Would it really be so soaked if it was _just_ used to clean up the blood marks?” He asked. Izuru frowned, thinking.

“No, there wouldn’t be that much blood.”

“Maybe the towel was used to wrap up the body, or at least the head to keep too much blood from getting everywhere. And then, by the time the person that moved the body got to the movie theater, the towel was soaked through. Then they used whatever dry part of the towel that was left to mop up the blood on the floor.” Hajime proposed.

“That’s very possible. If that was the case, then why would the killer do that? Why try to cover up the crime scene?” Mahiru asked. “If it was one of the people that didn’t have an alibi, it wouldn’t help since they didn’t have an alibi in the first place.”

“It’s possible they wanted to confuse us, to make the trial harder. To mislead us.” Nagito speculated. “After all, if they mislead us and we pick the wrong person as the culprit, we’ll all be executed while they go free.”

“That’s true… what we need to figure out now, is where the true crime scene was. Mikan, was there anything on Ibuki’s body that could have given us a clue?” Byakuya asked, turning with a stern glare to the nurse. 

“N-no! There wasn’t anything that I saw that could have told us anything. She had some scratches on her arms and some on her feet but that’s it.” She stuttered, wringing her hands together nervously.

“That’s wrong!” Hajime yelled, immediately seeing the contradiction. “When Izuru and I checked Ibuki’s body, we found bits of glass and a piece of metal stuck in her feet.” Mikan looked shocked at this.

“What? R-really? I didn’t notice…”

“Glass and metal? What kind of metal was it?” Kazuichi asked, scratching the back of his head.

“It looked like a part from a CRT. It couldn’t have come from one of the monitors, because if someone broke one of those we’d be breaking the rules.” Izuru explained.

“That’s right! If one of you bastards had broken a monitor I would’ve had to punish you. And as much as I would have enjoyed doing that, I don’t want to have to replace one of those monitors, they’re expensive!” Monokuma interjected, eye glowing with anger.

“Yes, so it had to have come from Electric Alley. There are plenty of TVs there, as well as glass windows. We didn’t have time to investigate there, so I don’t know for sure if that was the true crime scene, but that seems the most likely place for the crime to have taken place.” Izuru explained, making Hajime’s eyes widen.

“Yes, and it’s close enough to the movie theater that the killer could have moved the body fairly quickly. And the only people who were in that area were Mikan and Kazuichi.” Nagito went off of Izuru’s explanation. “So… going with that line of thinking, it was one of them.”

“If that’s the case then it was probably Kazuichi! Mikan couldn’t have killed a fly, let alone a person!” Mahiru accused, pointing at Kazuichi.

“H-hold on a second!” Said mechanic screamed, eyes wide.

“Before we go accusing someone, we need to look at the facts. Firstly, Mikan didn’t notice the glass and metal on Ibuki’s feet, which seems very odd considering how thorough she usually is.” Hajime said, turning to Mikan.

“It-it was just a little mistake, her head wound was so bad that I had a hard time doing her autopsy. Wh-why are you ganging up on me all of a sudden?” Mikan asked, tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m not taking her side but… she’s so clumsy and timid that it’s not out of the question that she’d make a mistake like that.” Fuyuhiko added.

“Th-that’s right, I’m very clumsy and-and I’m not all that smart so I…” Mikan agreed. Hajime noticed how different her tone of voice was however, seeming more eager to point out her own flaws.

“We’re not trying to gang up on you. We’re just asking questions to make sure that we know everything about this case.” Chiaki tried to reassure. 

“Guys, seriously, stop going after her. Mikan took care of you two and you have the nerve to accuse her of being the killer?” Akane, too, was upset with Mikan being accused.

“Yeah! Seriously, you’re so ungrateful!” Mahiru agreed. It was silent for a long time, until Hajime gave his brother a glance.

“What?” Izuru asked.

“Aren’t you going to say something? Talk some sense into them?” 

“No. She’s trying to waste the second chance Hiyoko gave her again. I said I wasn’t going to stop her the next time she did that I wouldn’t try and stop her. So I’m not.” Izuru reminded, making Mahiru flinch. 

“Am I… really wasting that second chance again?” She asked.

“You and Akane are taking the chance that Mikan isn’t the killer, going on only blind faith. You’re not being thorough.” He explained.  
“I… I don’t want to doubt Mikan though!” Akane protested. 

"Um...I don't think belief and doubt are necessarily opposites. I do doubt her...but I still want to believe her. Belief lies at the heart of that conflict. Cuz...if there's no room for doubt, then there's no reason to believe, is there? If you want to believe in someone...you need to overcome doubt first. Belief without doubt...is simply a lie.” Chiaki’s voice was soft, but held such a power that it quieted everyone.

“I… Fine, I won’t stop you anymore.” Akane backed down, looking very unhappy about it however.

“Me too. I… want to make sure. I want to trust Mikan… but if there’s even the smallest chance that she’s the culprit…” Mahiru’s words trailed off. Mikan was clearly unhappy about this.

“You’re just going to back down like that?” Gone was the timid and fearful voice that the nurse usually had, in its place was one cold and harsh. “So you’re all just a bunch of bullies. G-ganging up on me for just making such a simple mistake, and-and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I-I-I didn’t do anything wrong!” Her voice grew in volume as she spoke, ending with a frantic yell.

“That’s not the only reason we are accusing you. The towel is another reason.” Izuru refuted.

“Th-the towel?” She asked.

“The towel came from the hospital. Nobody but Nagito, Nekomaru and Byakuya visited the hospital from what I gather. However, someone who was staying at the hospital, such as myself, Hajime or Ibuki could. But Hajime and myself were still sick and it’s doubtful Ibuki used a towel to move her own body. However… you had access to the towels. Didn’t you?” Izuru’s voice was cold and his face was unreadable. 

“I-I-I…” She tried to continue to protest before she suddenly started to break out into giggles. "Haaaa...it's been suuuuuuuch a long time... This feeling...I know it well... Like the floor is collapsing...like the sky is falling down upon you... ...This feeling of despair!" 

Hajime jerked back as her demeanor suddenly changed drastically. Mikan’s face was bright red, and her arms wrapped around herself. But it was her eyes that scared him the most. They were full of a crazed adoration. 

“Wh-what the hell? Her personality just did a complete 180!” Fuyuhiko squeaked.

“So… these are your true colors… how disappointing.” Nagito remarked, looking unfazed despite being the closest to her besides Byakuya. 

The heir, too, looked unnerved by her sudden behavior. “What in the world…? So, are you confessing? Confessing to being the killer?”

“What? Noooo way! I’m not the killer, all you can prove is that I moved the body!” Mikan giggled.

“But… why? Why move the body?” Kazuichi asked. “And why are you acting so weird?”

“Why she’s acting like this isn’t important right now. What’s important is that she moved the body with the intent to throw off the investigation. But… I don’t think she’s the killer.” Izuru butt in before Mikan could respond.

“Huh? Why do you think that?” Hajime asked, genuinely confused.

“The scratches on Ibuki’s arms. I think… That Ibuki was trying to kill someone, most likely after being told to by Mikan given what we’ve learned about Mikan, but in her attempt, she was killed instead.” Izuru’s theory made sense, as the scratches looked the right shape for a person’s nails. 

“So… how do you know it wasn’t Mikan though?” Nekomaru asked.

“From what the scratches can tell us, Ibuki probably tried to strangle the person she was trying to kill, and they scratched at her arms in an attempt to get away from her. Then, while they were doing that they must have grabbed onto something to hit her over the head… killing her.” Nagito said, looking thoughtful. “That must be why the scratches were more severe on her right arm, since the person had to use their right hand to grab the weapon.”

“That’s right… so the killer must have bruises on their neck from where Ibuki tried to strangle them. The only people with covered necks are Gundam and… Kazuichi.” Hajime had a sudden realization. “Kazuichi, why _is_ your neck covered? You always keep your jumpsuit unzipped a little bit.” 

“Huh? Well, I was gettin’ kind of cold so I zipped it up. Is that a problem?” The mechanic asked, starting to sweat a little bit.

“Kazuichi was also the only other person who was at Electric Alley at the time of the murder.” Byakuya added.

“And he always carries around a wrench doesn’t he? If we compared his wrench to Ibuki’s head wound, we would probably see a match in the shapes.” Mikan chuckled, looking all too eager to participate now. 

“H-hold on a second! Don’t I get a chance like you gave to Mikan? Belief without doubt and stuff?” Kazuichi was becoming increasingly frantic. 

“Kazuichi… if you have something to hide, just admit it. We all know you cannot keep secrets. “ Gundam spoke up, his voice lacking it’s usual bravado. Kazuichi looked torn.

“If you aren’t the killer, then unzip your jumpsuit and show us your neck.” Hajime ordered.

“I-I-I… fine…” Kazuichi unzipped his jumpsuit until the slider was to his collarbone. This revealed dark red bruising around his neck. “I… I didn’t mean to. I… I got to the Alley and Ibuki was there. I asked her what she was doing out of the hospital that’s when she suddenly attacked me.”

“So, that _is_ what happened. Mikan, I’m assuming you told Ibuki to do this right?” Hajime asked.

“Heheh, yep! I didn’t want to get my hands dirty so I told Ibuki to go out and kill the first person she saw!” 

“That’s when she pushed me into the glass window behind me. The window shattered but my jumpsuit protected my back from the glass. I started fighting back, but she was so strong… I managed to grab ahold of my wrench and… After that I… I ran. I was terrified, I didn’t know what had just happened. I… wanted to confess, so many times. But every time I tried… I got this lump in my throat and I couldn’t talk. I’m sorry…” Kazuichi was crying now, his body shaking. 

“Kazuichi, even telling us this now is brave, admitting to your crime is brave.” Gundam assured, eyes closed. Hajime could see his hands shaking from where they were clenched in his sleeves. 

“I… I didn’t want to die… but I didn’t want you guys to die either!” The mechanic sniffled. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“The only one to blame here is Mikan. She was the one who told Ibuki, who was sick with an illness that made her believe what anyone told her, to kill. If anyone is to blame, it’s her.” Nagito said, glaring daggers at Mikan.

“Are you guys done with your little pity party? Are you going to vote yet?” Monokuma interrupted, paw to his mouth curiously. “Even if you’re not you’re gonna have to! It’s voting time!” 

The votes were unanimous, each person choosing Kazuichi as the culprit.

“Jeez, that wasn’t even fun… especially since he confessed.” Monokuma grumbled, a pout evident in his voice. 

“Oh would you can it already? Yo, Mikan, why the fuck are you acting like this?” Fuyuhiko asked. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I got sick!” Mikan said.

“Sick… wait, you mean the Despair Disease? Didn’t it get cured after the murder? Shouldn’t you be back to normal now?” Hajime was so confused, seeing as both he and Izuru had recovered almost immediately.

“But this _is_ normal for me! After all, the disease gave me back my memories.” Mikan explained. “I had… The Remembering Disease. I remembered every memory that Monomi took from me. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“The Remembering Disease… So… you were like this before.” Nagito mumbled.

“But you know! It’s not my fault I’m like this. It’s yours. I’m the person I am today because of human relationships. So… it’s not my fault I turned out like this. Even so… the me right now was the most strongly influenced by my beloved.” Mikan’s voice suddenly changed as she spoke the last two words, sounding more crazed and adoring. “They were the only one who accepted me completely, who forgave my existence.They never hated me.They loved me, gave me value.”

“Are… are they the reason why you told Ibuki to kill?” Byakuya asked.

“Yes! I knew that causing a death would make my beloved happy, even death they would be so happy for me causing despair like this. I only want my beloved to be happy, I want to make them proud! I don’t care about anything or anyone else but them. Not even the despair they loved so much can compare to the love I feel for them.” She responded, her voice becoming more and more frenzied as she spoke. 

“You… this is absolutely insane.” Mahiru put a hand over her mouth, tearing up slightly.

“But, there’s one more person you can blame for this.” Mikan turned to Izuru. “You… you had it too didn’t you? The Remembering Disease, that’s why you were so afraid of me right? You remembered everything, and I caught it from you, didn’t I?” 

Izuru looked away, staring at a point on the wall, staying silent. Hajime approached his brother and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Izuru? Did you… remember?”

“Yes… I remembered everything, just like Mikan did. Though I can hardly see how I’m to blame for her getting it as well.” Izuru answered, making Mikan break out into laughter.

“You and I both know that’s not true!” 

“Hey! Did you all forget what we’re here for? I’ve got an execution prepared and you bastards ain’t getting any younger! Let’s go!” Monokuma screamed, stomping his foot.

Gundam approached Kazuichi, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Kazuichi Souda, you were a fool, but a strong one. I will see you in Hell my friend!” Kazuichi looked offended for a moment before he remembered who was talking to him, and smiled.

“Thanks… you weirdo.”

“Now then! I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Mechanic Kazuichi Souda!”

“Stay safe… please, stay alive… for my sake… no… for everyone who’s died sakes.”

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! IIIIIIT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!”

**Super High School Level Mechanic Kazuichi Souda’s Punishment!**

**1000000 Leagues Beneath the ground**  
**Kazuichi was forced into a drilling machine. The door closed and the machine starts to drill, deeper and deeper into the ground below. As the machine starts to go deeper it begins to heat up. Faster and faster it drilled, and faster it faster it began to heat up. Soon, the drill beings to melt under the intense heat, melting Kazuichi along with it, leaving only a lump of molten metal and boiling blood.**

Everyone had turned away from the scene, not able to watch what was going on… aside from Mikan, who looked thrilled.

“Hehehe, oooh, I know my beloved is just having the best time in the afterlife. Watching all this despair.” She said, a wide smile on her face.

“You keep talking about your beloved, but I knew them. They did not love you, they were only using you for their own ends. You should not think so highly of them.” Izuru ground out, a disgusted look on his face. Mikan only giggled.

“Izuru, you’re just jealous. After all, you’ve never experienced the kind of love I have. You lost everything. Even-” Izuru suddenly surged forward, grabbing Mikan by her neck and pinning her against the wall.

“Just shut up!” He growled. 

“IZURU!” Hajime ran over, trying to pull his brother off of Mikan. “STOP IT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” He screamed, managing to get Izuru to let go. Izuru wouldn’t look at him. 

“... Let’s just go. I don’t want to be in this room anymore.” 

“Izuru… what the hell did you remember?” Mahiru asked, looking concerned. She took a step forward before being frozen in place by Izuru’s glare.

“I remembered… how much I hate everyone here except for my brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kl qti tdp ksdq tolj wtkh lhkuG
> 
> (Hint, it's a keyed Caesar Cipher)


	35. Chapter 35

The walk back to their cottage was silent, no one speaking to each other after Izuru’s statement. 

It wasn’t until they got back to their cottage that Hajime spoke. He slammed the door behind them and whirled around to face Izuru.

“What the HELL was that?” He yelled, eyes wide and angry. Izuru was facing away from him. “You remembered that you hated everyone but me? What does that even mean?”

“… I can’t tell you.” He replied. 

“What? Why not? Is it because of Monokuma again? Because if so I don’t care. He already knows you have your memories back so-” Izuru turned back to his brother, cutting him off. 

“I _can’t_ tell you… I… I don’t even know what is going on. What I remember and what’s happening is so confusing.” Hajime was surprised at what his brother was saying, but what truly stunned him was his brother’s face. 

Izuru was clearly holding back tears. Hajime could see in Izuru’s eyes true fear, anger, and most of all, confusion. 

“Izuru…” Hajime approached his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. Izuru flinched away like he’d been hit.

“Don’t touch me!” He yelled, backing up. His breathing was starting to pick up, and he looked frantic. “Please… don’t touch me…” 

“Izuru… what the hell happened? What did you remember?” Hajime asked again. Izuru opened his mouth to answer before shaking his head.

“I can’t… I don’t… I don’t know who to trust anymore, Hajime… I’m scared.” He whimpered, falling to his knees. Tears flowed freely now, and his shoulder shook in small sobs. 

Hajime said nothing, only kneeling next to his brother and reaching a hand out, not touching his brother just yet. Izuru stared at the hand offered to him before latching onto Hajime tightly, sobbing into his shoulder, soaking the fabric. 

Later that night, after Hajime had fallen asleep, Izuru slipped out of bed, searching for the notebook he’d bought at the market. 

In the book were notes that he’d kept over the course of the ‘trip’, and flipping through the pagest Izuru could see how much more disoriented and frantic his notes were becoming. He picked up his pen and began to write.

The more he wrote he started to feel his thoughts become more and more jumbled, instead of more organized like usual. By the time he was done, the final page was -- -.-- -.-- ..- -..- ---... -..-. -..-. -..- -.-- ..-. .-.-.- -..- -- -..-. ----- -.- .-.. ---.. ----. . -.-. --. - --... .--. .-.-..

 

_________

By the next morning, Izuru had calmed down, though Hajime could see that he was more guarded than usual, crossing his arms more and looking around constantly.

When they got to the hotel for breakfast, everyone, sans Mikan, Nagito and surprisingly Akane, were already there. Fuyuhiko scoffed when he saw Izuru.

“You’re showing up, really? I thought you hated all of us.” The yakuza said, a smirk on his face. Izuru rolled his eyes.

“I hate you less than I need coffee, that’s all.” Was the reply. Izuru picked the seat farthest from everyone, taking only a cup of coffee and a donut. 

Hajime, choosing to let the interaction between Fuyuhiko and his brother slided, raised an eyebrow. “Where are Mikan and Nagito?”

“We decided that they needed to be kept away from the rest of the group, for all our safety. Mikan is being kept in the old hotel building, while Nagito has been confined to Akane’s room for the morning. She was sent with a few plates of food for herself and Nagito. We were going to discuss what to do with him. Because while his actions in the past were dangerous, he does not currently seem to be a threat.” Byakuya explained, pausing his own meal. 

“We also need to talk about Izuru. What he said yesterday worries me. He said… he hates all of us because of something he remembered.” Mahiru said, looking nervous. “Izuru… I know you said you hate us but… what did we do to make you hate us?”

Izuru was silent for a moment before speaking. “It… I can tell you part of it, but not all of it. It has to do with Hajime and I’s talent.” Hajime perked up at that.

“You remembered our talent!? What is it?” He asked eagerly. Izuru frowned.

“I can’t say. Because if I did, everyone here would treat us differently, especially based on past responses.” Hajime deflated. 

“Can you tell me when we’re alone at least?” Izuru nodded in response. 

“You said that you couldn’t tell us all of the reasons why you hated us, why is that?” Gundam questioned, looking at Izuru suspiciously.

“Because… If I did, there’s the risk that you would regain your own memories and become as unhinged as Mikan… it would be best if you remained ignorant of the past.” Izuru paused for a moment before sighing. “It was… unfair of me to say I hated you all when you don’t even remember what you did to earn my hatred. I apologize.” 

Everyone was surprised at Izuru’s apology. They hadn’t expected him to do so, instead expecting him to be more cold. 

“It’s uh… fine Izuru. I mean, all things considered you’re under a huge amount of stress right now I can imagine.” Mahiru said, fiddling with the strap of her camera. “For what it’s worth… I’m sorry for whatever I did in the past. It seems like I did a lot of bad things that I don’t even remember doing…”

Fuyuhiko glanced over at Mahiru, eyes narrowed slightly before crossing his arms. Hajime looked over at him and gave him a stern look, before glancing at Mahiru then back to Fuyuhiko. The yakuza looked a bit unhappy but his expression softened for a moment. 

“Mahiru… I’m sorry too. My actions were too… rash and well… It got both Peko and Hiyoko killed… So… I’m sorry.” Fuyuhiko was obviously unprepared to apologize to Mahiru, but the photographer smiled anyway.

“If you are done with your apologies, we need to discuss what we’re going to do with Mikan, Nagito and Izuru.” Byakuya said, taking his napkin and wiping the last bits of food off of his face. 

“Wait, I get Mikan and Nagito, by why my brother?” Hajime asked, indignant. Byakuya stood. 

“Mikan’s memories returned and she became… that. And your brother has expressed that he has grudges against each of us for some reason or another.” 

“But he apologized!” Hajime protested. 

“He has, yes, but Mikan was acting normally until the trial even though she regained her memories before that. Who’s to say that Izuru isn’t doing the same in order to throw us off?” Byakuya suggested, making the others freeze.

“He-he wouldn’t do that! My brother wouldn’t do something like that! Yeah, he might be a bit cold and… he can be a bit intimidating, but he wouldn’t betray us!” Hajime protested. 

“I mean… he _did_ attack Mikan… and he threatened to kill Fuyuhiko before.” Mahiru pointed out, wrapping her arms around herself. 

“But…”

“Hajime, stop. I understand why they would distrust me.” Izuru mumbled, playing with a lock of his hair. 

“I suggest we have Nekomaru watch him along with Nagito. Hajime, you can join them. Izuru seems to only listen to you… most of the time.” Byakuya ordered, pushing his glasses up his face. “Understood?”

Hajime wanted to protest more, but Izuru merely agreed, not putting up a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The clues for this chapter's cipher is:  
>   
> 


	36. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is seriously short and I am ashamed. However, there is reason for this. I’ve started to get… burned out writing this all out. I still love this AU to bits, don’t get me wrong, but this fic has been going on for almost 2 years now, and I honestly didn’t think I’d get this far. In order to keep myself from getting too burned out, I will be skipping the events of chapter 5 and moving on to the final trial, and most likely expanding more on the events outside of the Neo World program.
> 
> I am also working on another project at the moment. A fan video series that I am going to call Dangan Ronpa: Welcome to Camp Despair. 
> 
> It is in the early stages of development at the moment, but I have made a discord server for it in case anyone wants to help out, as it is only myself and one friend working on the writing and plot.  
> Here’s the link to the discord: https://discord.gg/WApTaxP )

After picking up Nagito from Akane’s cottage, Nekomaru led them to his cottage.

“I apologize for asking, but why is Izuru under surveillance as well?” Nagito asked. “Is it because of his comment after the last trial?”

“Yeah, Byakuya said it was a good idea to keep an eye on him too.” Nekomaru explained.

The four of them fell into relative silence for a while, Hajime and Izuru speaking to each other softly while Nekomaru did some exercises in the corner. Nagito was sitting on the floor, watching the brothers for a while.

As he was watching, he noticed something.

“Pardon me Hajime, but are you alright?” He asked. Hajime looked up curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“It just seems like you’re having some trouble breathing.” At that Izuru gave his brother a hard look.

“You wore it to bed last night didn’t you?” He asked. Hajime didn’t look his brother in the eyes. 

“N-noooo…” He mumbled, making Izuru sigh. Nekomaru sat up, stretching his arms. 

“If you’ve been wearing that thing all night and for most of today you should take it off. You could seriously hurt your ribs.” Hajime blinked at what Nekomaru said, confused.

“Wait. How’d you know?” He asked.

“I heard you guys talking about it the other day. One of the kids I coached last year was the same way. He was pretty stubborn, kept wearing his binder to practice until he nearly collapsed one session. After that I made sure he just wore a sports bra.” Nekomaru explained. 

“Oh…” Hajime felt a little relieved at knowing that Nekomaru wasn’t going to judge him.

“Go on, take it off. I won’t look if that makes you feel better, but if you’ve been wearing it for so long it’s not healthy.” Nekomaru said, turning around and covering his eyes.

“But…” Before Hajime could say much more, Izuru gave him a serious look. 

“Hajime.” Izuru firmly said, making Hajime sigh in defeat. He turned to Nagito.

“You turn around too.” He ordered. Nagito turned around.

He reluctantly took off his binder, folding it and setting it on the ground. Izuru tossed him a sports bra that he carried around for when Hajme took off his binder. Hajime put it on and then his shirt, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“If… it’ll make you feel better you can wear my jacket.” Nagito offered once he was given the OK to turn back around. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable Hajime. Plus it’ll be more useful to you than it is to someone as worthless as me.” 

Hajime gave Nagito a glare. “Stop that. You’re not worthless. I’ll be fine alright? I just don’t want to go out like this.” 

“That’s fine. We can sit in here and talk about stuff I guess. If you want I can give you one of my famous massages. Akane says they’re pretty helpful for back pain.” Nekomaru offered, scratching his ear. “If you’re comfortable I mean. None of us will make fun of you or judge you.”

Hajim thought for a long moment before sighing. “Sure. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Nekomaru ended up giving Izuru a massage as well, after some convincing from Hajime. 

“That was the best thing I’ve ever felt. Plus, you need to relax too. You’re too stressed lately.” He said. 

Hajime was about to convince Nagito to get one as well when there was a knock on the door.

Akane slammed open the door without even waiting for an answer, making Hajime hide behind Izuru nervously. 

“Monomi just defeated a Monobeast, we got another island open! Chop, chop! We’ve got some investigating to do!” She exclaimed, running off after giving the information.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to make fanart of this work you do not need to ask permission, only need to tag me in it or send it to me on my Tumblr or on here.


End file.
